Random Friday afternoon poll: changing locks

[Deleted]

For those on the app, it's a simple question: did you change the locks when you bought your house?

[agnes]

We were going to, but never got around to it 2 years later. We did replace the slider, so that lock technically changed.

[stephogirl]

I didn't, but we built our house.

Had I purchased an existing house, yes, I would change the locks.

[maddiepaddy]

I did not when we bought our current house. We bought it from an older couple who had lived there for quite a while. It just didn't really cross our minds and now we've been there for so long, I'm not worried about it at all.

I did change them when I bought my first house though. It had been used as a rental for a while, and I had no idea how many people could possibly have copies of the keys.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2018 12:56:21 GMT -5 melmaria said:

Yes, but partly because FI really likes the keypad locks. We have them in all of the entrances to our house and they're connected to the alarm system, etc.

H wants to get smart locks, but I'm putting my foot down on that. It's just too much money right now. We can do it later.

[lilibet]

Yes. We probably would have anyway but we really wanted to because we bought from an older woman whose husband had been deceased for about 10 years and her son lived hours away so there was a really good chance that multiple neighbors might have had a spare emergency key.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2018 12:57:41 GMT -5 maddiepaddy said:

I did change them when I bought my first house though. It had been used as a rental for a while, and I had no idea how many people could possibly have copies of the keys.

I guess my thought process is similar but led me to an opposite conclusion: we've lived in rentals and never had a problem even though we couldn't change the locks, so meh?

[shauni27]

It wasn’t even something that crossed my mind but I live in a rural place where people often don’t even lock their front doors.

[mouse]

Am I the only one who really wanted to check the snowflake box?

We didn't think of it for about a year, at which point it seemed unnecessary. Now it's been 10 years, so I think it's gonna be okay.

[mrsukyankee]

We changed the entire door as well as the lock.

[wawa]

Jun 15, 2018 13:00:07 GMT -5 lilibet said:

Yes. We probably would have anyway but we really wanted to because we bought from an older woman whose husband had been deceased for about 10 years and her son lived hours away so there was a really good chance that multiple neighbors might have had a spare emergency key.

this is very similar to the thought process MH went through when he insisted we change all of our locks.  

And then we promptly got to know our closest two neighbors and gave one of them a spare key so he could let our dog out for us occasionally.   So THAT was a massive waste of money.

[mrsd2006]

It was 14 years ago and I don't even remember. It had been empty for around 2 years, previously a little old lady lived there by herself.

[Vespasia]

Yes but not for security reasons. They had a separate key for EVERY lock. 4 to get in the front door, 3 for the back, 3 for the basement! The first thing we did was change everything out so we only needed 1 key for everything.

ETA: Found a picture! 

[2curlydogs]

We didn't, but we knew the seller very, VERY well, so had no concerns on that front.

Our condo was new construction.

[maddiepaddy]

Jun 15, 2018 13:01:29 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Jun 15, 2018 12:57:41 GMT -5 maddiepaddy said:

I did change them when I bought my first house though. It had been used as a rental for a while, and I had no idea how many people could possibly have copies of the keys.

I guess my thought process is similar but led me to an opposite conclusion: we've lived in rentals and never had a problem even though we couldn't change the locks, so meh?

Yeah, I can see it that way, too. 

Ultimately, I feel like locks are great and all, but if someone really wants to get in, they're gonna find a way (break a window, etc...). 

[wawa]

so as per my comment above - my answer is yes, but I thought it was silly then and I still think it was silly now.

eta: I should clarify - I don't think it's universally silly.   It was silly for us though given the previous ownership situation and the neighborhood.

[Pom]

Nope. The previous owner passed away 6 months before and the closest relative was several states away. We did however install a key pad to enter the garage after I got locked out side in 100 degree heat.

[meshaliuknits]

Changing the locks was literally all the work we did on the house prior to moving in.

[Deleted]

we had them re keyed.

[YahYahs]

Voted yes because we changed locks in our previous house, which had some psycho sellers. But we didn't change locks on our current house because it was a new build. Guess we still could have (since the builders had a key), but we just didn't.

[seeyalater52]

Jun 15, 2018 13:01:29 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Jun 15, 2018 12:57:41 GMT -5 maddiepaddy said:

I did change them when I bought my first house though. It had been used as a rental for a while, and I had no idea how many people could possibly have copies of the keys.

I guess my thought process is similar but led me to an opposite conclusion: we've lived in rentals and never had a problem even though we couldn't change the locks, so meh?

This was my same thought process. It’s been 1.5 years and I’m happy to report we haven’t been robbed.

[rbp]

Jun 15, 2018 13:05:55 GMT -5 Vespasia said:

Yes but not for security reasons. They had a separate key for EVERY lock. 4 to get in the front door, 3 for the back, 3 for the basement! The first thing we did was change everything out so we only needed 1 key for everything.

ETA: Found a picture! 

This is insane!

[StrawberryBlondie]

I think so?

Our realtor recommended it and said it was basically mandatory if you were buying a foreclosure (we weren't).

We're also kind of lazy so we may have intended to but ultimately didn't.

[bex]

Yes, but it was to put in a keypad lock. We didn’t really care about the locks themselves being changed.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2018 13:22:57 GMT -5 bex said:

Yes, but it was to put in a keypad lock. We didn’t really care about the locks themselves being changed.

H wants a keypad lock, but we don't really need one. So I told him we should just get a realtor-style lockbox because we will probably have to hire someone to come give Beetus Boy his catsulin when we travel.

[gerberdaisy]

We changed the front door to put in a keypad, but none of the other locks. So, kinda? Not sure if we even have keys to the other doors.

[StrawberryBlondie]

Does this mean you have a house?!?

[nomad100]

Didn't when we bought the house but will be once the divorce is final and he moves away and won't need a key to the house because of the dogs. I can't trust that he hadn't given his offkilter mother a key when we were married even though I asked him not to. Plus I am getting a new door to the garage installed and would love to have one key for both door.

[msmerymac]

Mmmhmm. We re-cored the front and back doors and got a deadbolt put on the back door that uses the same key as the handle lock. We did that the day after closing, maybe. We bought our house from a woman who bought it in 1942. God knows who had keys to that place, or when the last time was that she had the locks replaced.

[Wallflower]

I need a SS - yes, I changed the lock on my garage (no access from the house) to a key pad. I meant to change the locks on the house but the quote I got was huge and I ended up not bothering. The same people owned the house for about 50 years and my great neighbor across the street still has a key, in case I need help.

When I bought my condo, it was apparent that it had been a rental unit previously, so I changed those locks very quickly.