As a Saratoga Springs rental property owner, you’re surely keen on finding techniques to reduce property maintenance costs. Even if you can certainly do a small number of things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Despite how amicably your last renter left, you should frequently have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are a good deal of reasons for this, the most imperative 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 the first concern for Saratoga Springs property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even when just a short while, vacant properties can turn out to be targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made so much possible 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 hinder criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can undertake this more without worry by re-keying your property’s exterior doors from the moment that a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a grave problem for your future renters. Renters would like to feel safe in their rental homes. Yet, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a really dangerous 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 therefore lose the trust of your renter, which may induce canceled leases and financially excessive turnover. To certainly make renter safety a reality, it’s imperative to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Even if the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can apply it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried in reference to safety, you can allay and ease those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may choose 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 quickly recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are handy, you can re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. While it is indeed simple to do, it does take a bit of expertise. And re-keying the locks can be a bit more reasonable than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
Yet, to safeguard the job is undertaken well, you may look to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to bring about the job more efficiently and extend you higher confidence that the re-key was done well. Either way, the most crucial thing is that it is settled accurately, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are in search of other solutions to help ensure their property’s and renter’s safety. For example, instead of re-keying the locks whenever a renter moves out, a number of landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. Such as for instance, installing a keyless entry system that is conditional on a code instead of a physical key could steer away from the need for re-keying your property altogether. Advanced keyless entry systems furthermore entail a smartphone app to unlock. Conceding that such options cost more upfront, the huge advantage is that you can just easily change the key code or smart key tool. Moving forward, a keyless entry system could add up to significant savings.
Renter move-out can be a busy time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Utah County do it for you? Our Saratoga Springs property managers are competent at managing everything the move-out process entails and can find you the ideal new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 801-889-1517.
Originally Published on July 2, 2023
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