We were having a discussion with one of the top moving company directory sites Find Good Movers and we asked them about security measures when moving. They said “the most important factor is re-keying a home when you move in” so we decided to have them help us write some information about this for you.
When we said goodbye to our small New York apartment and moved to a large country house in Maine, it was a dream come true. The whole family was excited. Our old apartment looked like a small room in front of this large beautiful house with three bedrooms and a garden full of blossoming flowers. But one day when we came back home tired after a whole day of shopping, we saw someone sitting in the drawing room. We were scared thinking that it was a burglar and called the police. Only when the police officers arrived, we realized that this stranger inside our house was an old friend of the previous owner. He could enter the house easily because the previous owner had given him the keys to the house.
It was a harmless experience, but we learned the importance of re-keying the house every time you move to a new place. You ‘never’ know how many people have the keys given by the ex-owners – their friends, parents, girlfriends, children and many more. If you bought the house from a real estate agent, then the key could also have been copied by them. There are even ‘stories’ of ex-owners, after being ‘foreclosed’ on, ‘coming’ back and ‘taking’ things from the ‘current’ renters or owners.
This is why it becomes very important to have your house rekeyed once you move into it. If possible, it is even better to have it rekeyed before your furniture, appliances and other things get transported to the new house.
What is rekeying?
Rekeying is the process of changing or modifying a lock, so that a different key can operate it. Any locksmith in your area can do this for you. During the re-keying process, the locksmith takes out the old pins and puts in the new pins in a different arrangement to work with the new keys. If you do not have pin lock or tumbler locks, then you may have to have the complete lock replaced.
Which locks should you have rekeyed?
When having your house rekeyed, you should make a list of all the locks that you want to have rekeyed. The locks of the main door, front door and any back doors should be rekeyed without thinking twice. The locks of any other ‘point’ of entry should also be rekeyed or replaced. There are many internal doors like those of bedrooms, children’s room, kitchen doors, wardrobe doors, etc., which rekeying is not so important. But you can have these doors also rekeyed for extra security. Then there are mailbox doors, basement doors and garage doors which also must be rekeyed.
Should commercial properties be rekeyed too?
Residents of houses, condos and apartments are ‘not’ the only ones who fall victim to ex-owners and their acquaintances having keys to the newly bought properties. Many of the business owners who buy new commercial properties also often come across the same ‘issue’ with prior owners or lease holders. Actually, it becomes much more serious as the commercial properties often have expensive merchandise and equipment. And anyone having the ‘keys’ to your business place can siphon out all of your goods overnight without ringing any alarm.
If you have just sacked an employee, then it gives one more reason for a business owner to rekey their locks. Such an employee could hold a grudge against you and use his old keys to have you robbed. There are many stories of ex-employees engaging in theft at their former working places.
Should I wait for the re-keying to be done?
Often the new landlords find it a hassle to have their entire house re-keyed. They think that it could happen to others, but it cannot happen to them and keep procrastinating rekeying of the locks until the day something actually happens. There is no ‘reason’ to wait for rekeying and finding out that some other people have the ‘keys’ to your house. You can visit your local locksmith or give them a call today to arrange an appointment. Most of the locksmiths can do this readily and have all the materials and tools ready with them. Rekeying does not take a long time either. A professional locksmith takes only 10 minutes to rekey any lock. So, be sure to ‘rekey’ your locks when moving across country and prevent your house from being broken into by strangers.