As a Mission Valley rental property owner, you’re perhaps trying to seek out measures to reduce property maintenance costs. Even while you can do a lot of things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. Regardless of how amicably your last renter left, you should, each time, have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are lots of reasons for this, the most essential 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 biggest worry for Mission Valley property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even briefly vacant properties can get to be targeted for criminal mischief and burglary. This is only made easier if your previous renters copied their key and gave it to someone that wasn’t on the lease. To keep your property secure and forbid criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can accomplish this without trouble by re-keying your property’s exterior doors every time a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a major challenge for your future renters. Renters like to feel safe in their rental homes. With that said, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a 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 indeed lose the trust of your renter, which may bring on canceled leases and expensive turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s essential to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Even while the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you hesitate, you can showcase it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried about safety, you can allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may prefer 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 very 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. Even while it is much simpler to fulfill, it does take a bit of competence. And re-keying the locks can be a bit cheaper than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
With that said, to guarantee the job is accomplished excellently, you may hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to complete the job more efficiently and present you with higher confidence that the re-key was put into effect satisfactorily. Either way, the most important thing is that it is undertaken appropriately, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are seeking other solutions to help make sure their property’s and renter’s safety. As an illustration, instead of re-keying the locks often every time a renter moves out, lots of landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. For instance, installing a keyless entry system that is determined by a code instead of a physical key could shun the need for re-keying your property altogether. More modern keyless entry systems likewise demand a smartphone app to unlock. While it is true that such options cost more upfront, the key benefit is that you can, without difficulty, change the key code or smart key tool. After a while, a keyless entry system could add up to considerable savings.
Renter move-out can be a hectic time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management Realevate Specialists do it for you? Our Mission Valley property managers are capable of expertly doing everything the move-out process demands and can find you a nice new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 858-997-2100 or 951-461-0100.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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