As a Hawthorne rental property owner, you’re perhaps trying to find resources to reduce property maintenance costs. Despite that you can do quite a few things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Never mind how amicably your last renter left, you should always have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are many reasons for this, the most important being the security of your property, the safety of future renters, and helping boost your rental’s appeal to new renters.
Property Security
Security should be a major priority for Hawthorne property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even briefly, vacant properties can turn into targets for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made far simpler if your previous renters copied their key and gave it to someone that wasn’t on the lease. To keep your property secure and to ward off criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can fulfill this more simply by re-keying your property’s exterior doors each time a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a major problem for your future renters. Renters demand to feel safe in their rental homes. Be that as it may, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a harmful illusion. If a previous occupant or someone they gave a key to does break in, you may find yourself liable for any damage or injury that results. You will, moreover, lose the trust of your renter, which may trigger canceled leases and high-cost turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s very important to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Despite that the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you instantly hesitate, you can benefit by using it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried about their safety, you can thoroughly allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may favor your property over similar rentals in the area. If you can increase demand for your property, you can charge a bit more for rent and straight away recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are quite handy, you can re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. Although it is simple to accomplish, it does take a bit of dexterity and know-how. And re-keying the locks can be a bit more cost-effective than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
Be that as it may, to make certain the job is carried about completely, you may have to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to perform the job more efficiently and provide you with higher confidence that the re-key was executed flawlessly. Either way, the most basic thing is that it is done aptly, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are always trying to find other solutions to help guarantee their property’s and renter’s safety. Such as, for example, instead of re-keying the locks whenever a renter moves out, quite a lot of landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. As an illustration, installing a keyless entry system that is typically based on a code instead of a physical key could dodge the need for re-keying your property altogether. More advanced keyless entry systems need a smartphone app to unlock. Much as such options cost more upfront, the good thing is that you can, without hassle, change the key code or smart key tool. In due time, a keyless entry system could add up to more savings.
Renter move-out can be a frantic time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management California Coast do it for you? Our Hawthorne property managers are accomplished at properly handling everything the move-out process entails and can find you the ideal new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 310-535-2150.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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