As an Adams Morgan rental property owner, you’re conceivably trying to find ways and means to reduce property maintenance costs. Notwithstanding that you can do particular things to save money, re-keying your rental property’s locks is not one of them. It makes no difference how amicably your last renter left, you should always have your property’s locks re-keyed between renters. There are quite a lot of solid 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 concern for Adams Morgan property managers, whether or not your property is currently occupied. Even when just temporarily, vacant properties can easily 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 block criminal activity, you need to be able to control who has access to the property and when. You can do this more painlessly by re-keying your property’s exterior doors if a renter moves out.
Renter Safety
Unreturned keys are a critical issue for your future renters. Renters long to feel safe in their rental homes. But, if your past renters still have a key to the house, that feeling of safety may be a perilous 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, consequently, lose the trust of your renter, which may prompt canceled leases and expensive turnover. To make renter safety a reality, it’s very important to re-key the locks.
Increased Appeal
Notwithstanding that the cost of re-keying the locks between renters may make you understandably hesitate, you can work with it as a selling point for your property. If a prospective renter is worried about regards to safety, you can allay those fears by guaranteeing that their locks have been re-keyed; and they may pick 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 swiftly recover anything paid to have the locks re-keyed.
DIY or Hire a Pro?
If you are handy, you can easily re-key the locks of your rental property yourself. Though conceding it is so much easier to do, it does take a bit of adeptness and know-how. And re-keying the locks can be a bit cheaper than replacing the entire lock, knob, or deadbolt.
Although, if you want to be certain the job is conducted adequately, you may need to hire a professional to come in and do it for you. A professional locksmith will be able to discharge the job more efficiently and furnish you with higher confidence that the re-key was done efficiently. Either way, the most pertinent thing is that it is done more than satisfactorily, and you have an entirely new set of keys to give to your new renter.
Alternatives to Re-Keying
Today’s landlords are looking for other solutions to help make certain of their property’s and renter’s safety. For a case in point, instead of re-keying the locks constantly a renter moves out, quite a few landlords find it more cost-effective to install an electronic keypad or smart key product. As an example, installing a keyless entry system that is based on a code instead of a physical key could fend off the need for re-keying your property altogether. More enhanced keyless entry systems also warrant a smartphone app to unlock. Even though such options cost more upfront, the huge benefit is that you can just actually change the key code or smart key tool. Later on, a keyless entry system could add up to big savings.
Renter move-out can be a boisterous and hectic time for property owners. Why not let the professionals at Real Property Management DC Metro do it for you? Our Adams Morgan property managers are well-experienced in dealing with everything the move-out process requires and can find you a really good new renter! To learn more, contact us online or call us at 202-269-0303.
Originally Published on July 2, 2021
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