When Should You Consider Rekeying Your Home?

A key next to a lock cylinder.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Creative Commons

Feeling safe is a basic human desire. Knowing you can come home to relax and escape the rest of the world in your own, safe dwelling is something everyone looks forward to when they purchase a home.

But what good is a home if we don’t feel safe there? Not even when the doors are locked? Whether you’ve lost the key, had a burglary occur, or you’re unsure of who may have access to your home, there are options to regaining your peace of mind. And it doesn’t have to be complicated or pricey to fix.

Instead of going out and having to get all new locks, you can have a locksmith come and rekey your home.

Knowing that these locks were specially designed gives you a new peace of mind to sleep at night and to know your family and valuable items are all protected.

Here are some reasons you should consider rekeying your home. Read more “When Should You Consider Rekeying Your Home?”

Landlords: Why You Should Always Have Apartments Rekeyed Between Tenants

An illustration of a hovering key entering a small house.

If you’re a landlord then you know all too well the list of to-dos that comes along with renting out an apartment. Keeping up with maintenance, collecting rent, ensuring your tenants are happy, and keeping the place in habitable shape are just some of the things you have to pay attention to. But what happens when a tenant moves on? Or worse, you have to ask them to leave?

Typically you’ll want to get the place cleaned up again and ready to be rented out again. That might include having to repaint walls, clean carpets and even patch up holes. But one thing you might not think about at first — and that should move to the top of you list — is rekeying the locks.

This is a critical step especially if your renters left on bad terms or there was any reason they may want to re-enter the apartment. Making copies of keys usually violates a lease agreement, but you can never be sure enough. Read more “Landlords: Why You Should Always Have Apartments Rekeyed Between Tenants”

So You’re Locked Out of Your House. Now What?

young woman sitting on stoop

Have you ever locked your keys in your car? Or worse, came home and realized you didn’t have the keys to get into your own home? It’s a scary situation. But it doesn’t have to be. Before the terror has a chance to set in, have a plan in place and know what to do if your locked out of your house without a key.

Instead of breaking a window or using a screwdriver to try to pry open the door and possibly set off your alarm, know that there are many lock options today that are advanced enough to allow you entry without these drastic measures.

Coming up with a game plan in advance to a possible lockout is the ideal solution, but some of us have to learn the hard way that forgetting or misplacing your keys is a very easy situation to find yourself in. When you do, here are some ideas on how to get back into your house. Read more “So You’re Locked Out of Your House. Now What?”