I chose something else. We did only because we bought a new front door and changed the hardware. So we have new keys for that, and old keys for the other doors. We bought it from my gpa, though, so extenuating circumstances and all that.
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.
We didn't, but we knew the seller very, VERY well, so had no concerns on that front.
Our condo was new construction.
Ditto. Our sellers lived there since it was built and my GFIL IS A NEIGHBOR (who built his house and has lived in it since) so my MIL knew them from childhood as well. Super sweet people, we invited them back to take some plants because we wee (and still are) overwhelmed by peony plants.
No, but we changed the alarm code. We also eventually changed the back door lock because we replaced the doors back there. But the front door is still the same. I have no idea why I didn't care about changing it, we change the locks at our rental property after every tenant and I am militant about that. Apparently I'm not concerned about my real home?
Yes, we have half glass doors and we switched to a double key lock on each door. All the doors use the same key. We didn't switch the original door handle lock nor the garage lock.
We are second owners and the previous owner built the house and lived there for 70 years. We know he had home health and lots of keys out but we really changed it for the fact that we had all the windows on the doors. It has come in handy to keep kids (asd) from wandering outside. I only got locked inside the house once... never got locked out.
OH! I did go around to the neighbors he trusted and asked if they had extra house keys. I had a pile of keys that I knew were other neighbors, but with no tags on them. So I asked if they had a set to our house, and asked if any of the keys were theirs. One took them back, the others we have kept in a drawer (labeled now).
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, although it was only 3 total keys so not as crazy.
Post by picksthemusic on Jun 15, 2018 14:32:31 GMT -5
We did when we changed out the door knobs/handles. We didn't for a while - the couple we bought from had moved to Texas so we weren't worried about it.
Post by notsocreepylurker on Jun 15, 2018 20:15:53 GMT -5
@angryharpy, do you have a home warranty? The seller paid for 1 year for me. It's $75 for them to come rekey the house. I wanted new hardware and paid another $50 to the guy to install them.
I was always told to change the locks when you get a house (this is my first - I've rented apartments before). Even so, I would have with this house. There was a lock box on the front door that NO ONE knew the code to. I would have had to get bolt cutters to get it off (I got new doorknob so it came off with the old). Also the seller had rented before I bought for several years so no clue who had keys to the house. Lastly, seller TOOK ALL THE KEYS FROM THE LOCKBOX the weekend before closing. My realtor and I showed up to do a final walk through and sign the papers and couldn't get in. We made them call an emergency locksmith to get us in. The keys she left in the house were those thin long ones that are for like bathroom/closet doors and the keys from when she bought the house (but she changed the locks so they didn't work). Seller did a lot of other shady stuff so new locks were for peace of mind.
Those electronic keypads - check consumer reports before getting them (in the future). I actually got QuikSet locks that weren't too expensive but highly recommended by Consumer Reports.
And to end my wall o' text Some advice from a new home buyer that I didn't follow but should have: Don't buy anything without really thinking if it's a NEED or a WANT. IE: I had a leak in the roof so I needed to fix that/repair the bedroom ceiling. I WANTED to get patio furniture and did but really didn't NEED it (hello Houston in summer!) and that is $3500 I could have saved.
Our sellers moved out of state, so I wasn't worried about them. But I was also looking into smart locks. In the end we decided against that price, but I still changed for safety (their lock wasn't bump proof) and aesthetics
Post by penguingrrl on Jun 15, 2018 20:48:01 GMT -5
We intended to. Then we moved in and kept forgetting. Then I got a bunch of keys made for my mom and ILs and kids, so 14 months later that ship has officially sailed. The woman we bought from is a current teacher in our elementary school and her exH coached my brother’s baseball team as a kid, so I’m not too worried.
I did, however, get very cute rainbow keys made so we all know which key is for my house on our keychain. It was like an extra $2 and so worth it. No more fumbling to remember which is my house key when I come in.
Post by bugandbibs on Jun 15, 2018 20:49:12 GMT -5
We bought a new build with the kwiki smart locks that just need a specia tool to re-key. It was less than $20 to buy the tool and have keys made. We only bothered because the master set was "missing" 2 from the usual number of copies they make for new owners and they were shrugging shoulders about why the correct number weren't there.
We did put keypad locks on this year and I wonder how we ever lived without them.
share.memebox.com/x/uKhKaZmemebox referal code for 20% off! DD1 "J" born 3/2003 DD2 "G" born 4/2011 DS is here! "H" born 2/2014 m/c#3 1-13-13 @ 9 weeks m/c#2 11-11-12 @ 5w2d I am an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing, pro marriage equality, birth control lovin', Catholic mama.
Post by notsocreepylurker on Jun 15, 2018 21:11:40 GMT -5
penguingrrl, I got myself the NY Giants keys. And each friend I gave a set to (3 of them) each got their own fun colorful set. I have a tie dye one left and the masters
We changed the locks once we were through with contractors...about 7 months after we moved here.
We bought the house from someone who had started to flip it, so there had been a lot of people who had access. Also, the hardware was really cheap, 35yrs old, and was ugly and pitted.
We replaced the deadbolt on the front door that opens to the porch/courtyard, (not the actual house) twice. DH needed a different type of lock for his office than the one that came with his door handles, so I used that deadbolt to change the one in the front door. I wanted it keyed differently than the house, the studio and the office (which are already keyed different from each other). It just makes it easier for us to limit/control access when we need to give access.
Post by sillygoosegirl on Jun 15, 2018 21:47:19 GMT -5
I wasn't going to, but like a week after we closed our realtor started getting odd requests from the seller, and she urged us to get them changed right away and we did. It was a good move... I don't think anything would have happened with the seller, but I adore the combination entry locks we got.