Wondering what kind of experiences you all have had using a lock box at a rental, rather than personally showing it? Thanks for your knowledge!
I only give the lock box code to contractors. I NEVER give the code to anybody that I don’t expect to have liability insurance just in case they forget to lock it up. I never give the code to prospective or current tenants.
There are only 2 reasons that mistakes are made. They are greedy or lazy. If you look at doing something based on greed or laziness it is almost certain to be a mistake.
Yes, it’s absolutely fine to give prospective tenants a lockbox code for your rentals IF YOU HAVE A GIANT STACK OF $1,000 BILLS THAT YOU DON’T NEED! You’ll get to use this extra cash to replace all the copper and other metal that is stolen; replace the drywall where the riff-raff knocks holes in the walls to remove the wiring; evict the vagrants and drug addicts that move in, and repair all the vandalism.
Good Luck,
Mike
In our 6 years of renting out our properties, we have never given applicants the lock box code.
We do that all the time. We used to show properties in TX using a lock box while we lived in CA (prospects didn’t know we were in CA). We’ve never had any problems. BUT we only have nice houses in nice neighborhoods (with predominantly homeowners) and some of our neighbors are really nosy 
We aren’t in the neighborhood where A/Cs and copper get stolen.
We also sometimes leave the house open (“open house”) for 5-7 hours on the weekend. In our area, other LLs and some sellers do this, too.
However, we don’t use a lock box in FL where we also have rentals. FL attracts very marginal people from all over the country (many prospects don’t even have jobs!) Even vendors come and go there.
So it really depends on your area/neighborhood.
I live in a nice area with a very low crime rate, and no way would I ever hand a key to any tenant before they had been screened, signed a contract, and paid all money up front.
If you give the key to someone and they just move in, they are not squatters. Because you gave them the key, they are tenants, and you will have to go through a full eviction to get them out.
There are a lot of theives out there. You could have your plumbing, appliances, and AC stolen. You could even lose the carpeting and kitchen cabinets.
There are people looking for a free place to meet their girlfriend at noon. You want them on your living toom carpet? How about a nice boozy high school party? Have you seen what those kids do to a house? Yeah, kegger at Leadlady’s house!
That’s only the start of what could go wrong.
How about a lawsuit because the prospective tenant tripped and fell. You weren’t even there to see it. You don’t even know if they fell or if they already had that neck brace on before they even got to your rental.
I’ve been giving out the lockbox code to potential owner financed buyers for a year now. My houses are in good areas, the only thing that went missing are towels for my staging and I believe some of my contractors took them. Other than that, nothing so far.
I started meeting my potential buyers based on $Cash$'s advice to help convert them, not for theft reasons.
Thanks for all your advice, I guess I will count my blessings that nothing got broke/stolen/or slept on thus far. Needless to say I wont be giving the code away anymore!