If you have recently purchased a new home, office, or commercial building, or are a business owner, manager, realtor, property manager, or landlord, it is likely that you have the need to have your locks rekeyed. Rekeying locks is one of those things that just must be done from time to time. It is for you, your family’s, and your client’s personal safety as well as the safety of your property. Rekeying is a necessity, not a luxury.
For those unfamiliar with lock rekeying, it is an alternative to replacing all of your lock hardware. Instead of changing the locks, the locksmith will change the pins inside of the lock so that the old keys will no longer work, and a new key is subsequently generated.
1) You have a big ol’ ring of keys.
Through time, you’ve replaced a few locks here and there, but now each one has a different key. If you are walking around with a bunch of different keys for each different lock in your house or business, you probably spend quite a bit of time going through each one just to open the door!
2) Lost or Stolen Keys = You do not know who has keys to your house.
You went on vacation and gave the house sitter a key. You had some work done at your house and gave the contractor a key. Then your kid loses their key copy at school. Too many people have had access to your home and keys, and if they still have a copy, they could enter at any time. It’s a scary thought, but it is an easy fix.
3) Your employee quit or was fired and refuses to give back their keys.
Business owners and store managers are quite familiar with this scenario. An employee quits or is fired and refuses to give back company property, including the keys. Even if a disgruntled employee gives back their copy of the key, the truth is they may have secretly made a copy with a plan to come back in the future when you least suspect it. Don’t give them the opportunity.
4) A tenant or roommate moved out.
If you are a landlord or property manager, it is your responsibility to ensure the safety of your tenants. You do not know to whom your old tenant gave keys. If you do not have a locksmith rekey the locks at the property each time an old tenant moves out, you are leaving the innocent new tenant and their family at risk.
For people with roommates, the same goes for you. You may have known the person well, but in the event of a move-out, it is necessary to have your locks rekeyed. As a locksmith, I have heard many stories about the roommate who keeps coming back, saying they “forgot something.” Or, items had been disappearing, but there was no sign of forced entry.
5) You purchased a new home.
Congratulations! When you buy a new house, there is that wonderful moment in time during closing when you receive the new keys. But, to whom did the previous owners give copies of those keys? There is no way to accurately trace the history of every key, even for the most conscientious of us. Call a locksmith and have them take care of that for you. Rekeying is also a great housewarming present (hint). Give the gift of security!
