subject: Basic Security Measures When Buying And Selling Houses [print this page] When buying and selling houses, an often overlooked but important issue is. You want to be able to protect your investment property - or your potential investment property -as best you can. Yet, you face a quandary when you want to show potential tenant buyers your houses.
The secret to safeguarding your homes while also being hospitable to potential buyers is key management. You have to be able to keep your keys in a safe, secure location--otherwise, you could end up with a number of trespassers on your property.
It's a good idea, for instance, to erect a cabinet in an out-of-the-way place where you can hang all your keys. Each key should be tagged with the number of the address and the first letter of the street name. If you have the complete address on the tag, you run the risk that someone will find the key and end up walking through a home without your knowledge or permission. The keys should be hung in the box in numerical order so that they can be easily located.
You also need to make sure you keep only the current set of keys for each property. Locks must be changed as soon as a tenant moves out or as soon as you acquire a new property. Therefore, you could end up with a number of old keys. It's best if they are discarded in order to lessen confusion.
Each contractor should be required to hand over all keys before he is paid. Otherwise, you could end up with a number of keys being lost or stolen. Even if you trust a contractor implicitly, it is best if you obtain all his keys before you pay his bill.
Ideally, you should have a lockbox on each property for security reasons. That way, you can keep close tabs on who enters and exits the property. If you place your phone number on a sign outside the property, you can have people call you to open up the lockbox while they are waiting out front. This can save valuable time in the long run.
Keeping track of keys can be frustrating for all concerned. It seems that there are always people around who want to walk off with keys. Therefore, you need to be vigilant about your key management techniques. The more vigilant you are, the safer you and your property will be in the end.
