I have too many keys!! Does anyone know of a lock system where the landlord would have just one single key? Thanks.
JP
There’s this:
I saw the kwikset selling at Lowe’s this weekend. I just don’t want to spend the extra money on them. I buy new doorknobs and deadbolts for each new house and just buy the cheap little keychains with space to write on. All the keychains then go in my high tech Zip-Lock bag.
I have the world’s record changing locks. I can change a door lock faster than most people can spit.
By the way Ziplock bags are the way to go for me also. I write right on the bag with a Sharpie
thanks for sharing the link
I just wanted to follow up on this thread. I just purchased 12 sets of doorknobs and deadbolts from landlordlocks.com . The total cost with shipping was $639. I now have ONE KEY for the whole property!!!
JP
They are a waste of money if your properties already have good locks, especially at $25 a pop.
If you want to burn money and replace all your locks, then go for it.
Just organize your locks and matching keys in ziplocks or small zipper bags, like the previous person said, and rotate them between properties. E.G. Remove the old locks from the old property, and put them on a different one in the future. The amount of money you will save over time will be amazing - and that has been the standard practice of most apartment complexes for years.
I’ve been using that method and it doesn’t work for me.
What I started with was a bunch of mixed up Kwikset/Schlage doorknobs and deadbolts. Some doors had a doorknob from one manufacturer and the deadbolt from the other. I had more than 12 sets of keys. Finding the correct keys was a laborious task no matter how well marked.
Because my building has a central fire alarm, I also have to have keys in a lockbox mounted on the buildings exterior for the fire department. Earlier this year, I had a false alarm and the fire department responded. I was there and let the fire department in. However, they did inform me that they do not waste much time fumbling through the cluster of keys for an unfamiliar property before they knock the door down. The fire rated doors cost $600 ea. They would have busted through two of them that day if I wasn’t there. That would have cost me $1200.
Being that master-keyed and standard locksets cost the same. I think buying locksets that aren’t master keyed is a waste of money.
JP
Well, it works for 95% of the landlords out there. I know dozens and dozens of landlords, including people who own 1000+ apartment complex units<<
I’ve been using that method and it doesn’t work for me.
That is your fault for not being organized - I know - as I used to do the same thing, but I am now organized<<
What I started with was a bunch of mixed up Kwikset/Schlage doorknobs and deadbolts. Some doors had a doorknob from one manufacturer and the deadbolt from the other. I had more than 12 sets of keys. Finding the correct keys was a laborious task no matter how well marked.
That is unusual. In Texas, the fire department can and will kick the door down. They NEVER wait for the landlord to come up with some keys. And again, its all a matter of being organized.<<
Because my building has a central fire alarm, I also have to have keys in a lockbox mounted on the buildings exterior for the fire department. Earlier this year, I had a false alarm and the fire department responded. I was there and let the fire department in. However, they did inform me that they do not waste much time fumbling through the cluster of keys for an unfamiliar property before they knock the door down. The fire rated doors cost $600 ea. They would have busted through two of them that day if I wasn’t there. That would have cost me $1200.
That might be true for you. But for 95% of the landlords out there, they ARE a waste of money if you have existing, good locks.<<
Being that master-keyed and standard locksets cost the same. I think buying locksets that aren’t master keyed is a waste of money.
LOL, nice bait!!
FWIW, In RI the fire department will knock the door down if there is a fire and they don’t have easy access to the property. If you call to let them know that it is a false alarm, they use the key to enter and then inspect the property. That’s why they mandate the lockbox.
JP
We have about 30 units, scattered all over town. One masterkey.
When locks go bad–stick, don’t work right–we call OUR locksmith. The guy we let use the fax machine for free. The guy who does all our locks. The guy we can rely on and he relies on our money.
A lock will go bad every month or so. Then it gets replaced with a new Kwikset, and keyed for the masterkey as well. The keys hang in a locked key cupboard, stole that idea from the Realtors. Each key has a plastic colored tag with our mailing/office address on one side, and the NAME of the unit on the other, not the address.
If there is a sketchy tenant ever, we re-key that unit.
The Masterkey has saved hundreds of hours of searching and to-and-fro-ing. It works for us.
Furnishedowner
You cn never have too many keys. If you walk around with a big old key ring with 100 keys on it you look important.
Don’t forget having a belt clip for your cell phone and a bluetooth headset too.
I must admit that like our dear president I am guilty of the Blackberry clipped to my belt also. I did take the pocket protector out of my shirt pocket about 10 years ago, but I still put the pens there I just live with the ink stains.
A master key is the one that can access many doors. The Landlord has the authority to access the doors for security purposes. Having the skilled and experience locksmith can figure out and make its own master key.
I understand the frustration of having so many keys. It is less about organization and more about the pain of making sure you grabbed the right key. When I was in property management, we had a master key for every multi-tenant building. It is a really easy thing for a locksmith to do for you. Then when the locks need to be changed when a tenant moves out, you do not have to change your master key. Much cheaper than changing locksets.
Master keyed locks are a must for landlords or anyone who has more than a few properties. When I first started I went with the single key per lock method. After I got to 10 rental buildings I had so many keys on my key chain it was a mess. I had enough after losing a key to a property and having to pay a locksmith big money to pick it. I bought all new schlage locks from the lock king https://www.thelockking.com/ After replacing all the locks I went through my keychain and had about 15 keys that didn’t match any of the locks I removed haha. It is so nice just having 1 master key now to get into everything. If I go on vacation I just give the master key to my brother in case anything goes wrong. After having it both ways, the master key choice is so much easier.