Keys
if all goes as planned, by the middle of September I will have a total of 12 units (3 of which are garages). I am now churning in my mind the huge key ring I will need. I would like a master key for everything. my question is, how easy is it to rekey doors so that my master key will still work? how about like a hotel, some type credit card looking 'key' that gets rekeyed every time? or, a lock that they must type a code in and I can reprogram it. I initially will have a locksmith come out to set all this (whatever 'this' is) but am looking for suggestions or ideas before I get to that point - #1 so he doesn't totally rip me off and #2 so that I have a general grasp of whatever he might suggest.
as always, thank you so much for your help.
The easiest way to do this is to go to one of the larger industrial supply houses and have them sell you 50 locks keyed to one master and replace the locks rrather than re-key the existing locks.
thanks - my son can change locks for me and it sounds like you've given me the perfect solution.
I'm not sure if it is worth the cost to replace all of those locks...
Using key tags and a large key ring works well for me. If you have multiple keys for each unit--consider leaving all but one at home to limit what you carry. 12 keys certainly isn't too many to be carrying around---use an engraver to mark the keys.
I've also seen neat little leather key binders where you can slip in keys and also a piece of paper to mark what it is for. I don't use them because I find a 50c keychain works for me but that may be something to consider also.
From what I've seen management companies typically have a key box and then just grab what they need and bring them back to the office. I prefer to keep them all with me and I only have 15 or s keys so it works out currently.
Call a couple of lock smiths and have 1 master key made to fit all, just like they do in the school departments. Then they will give you a key for the tenent that will fit only in that lock. This way you only have to change them once, if somebody moves and you have to change the lock you have a good locksmith to deal with. Make a couple of calls first to see were they are as far as price, Your investing a lot so do it once, and you wont be fumbeling with keys. They will treat you right and you will need them in the future. Hope this helps Dave[ Edited by dkelley on Date 08/16/2004 ]
Sue:
Commercial King gave you the best advice. Carry one key and file away the other keys for individual units.
Best Riches,
Jeff Adam
_________________
"The only place success comes before work
is in the dictionary."
[ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 08/21/2004 ][ Edited by JeffreyAdam on Date 08/21/2004 ]
I'm also about to take possession of my first few rental properties and I've got a question that only a newbie could ask, so please don't roll your eyes too much. Aren't there different sizes of door locks, so that it would be impossible to know in advance what locks to stock up on or to order from http://www.landlordlocks.com without actually measuring the lock hole in the door and the thickness? Or do locks come in a "one size fits all" these days?
Residential doors holes are standard these days. Go to Depot or lowes and you'll see that all of the precut doors are exactly the same hole size.
Thanks for posting the LL Locks site! That looks like the perfect solution for me!!
Well almost standard. Locks come in two "backsets" (the distance from the edge of the door to the center of the hole) 2 3/8" and 2 3/4" most locksets have adjustable strikes that will accomidate either setting.
Good point ,commercialking. Changing all the locks to one manufacturer, master keyed, makes the most sense. That way, you get consistency and convenience. Use Schlage instead of Kwikset, e.g.
****This URL Not allowed****.com is a good resource
Buy landlording for dummies, it is a very good book and an easy read.
Do you tenants have a written lease or are they month to month? If they have a written lease you can not kick them out. leases stay with the property, not with the owner. If they are month to month, and pay monthly, then you must give 30 days notice for them to move.
I always go to the units and introduce myself as the new owner. I have my information written down on a peice of paper. I also make an appt for an inspection of the property for any needed repairs.
You should never enter their house without them being there. You should never give out their key to anyone. If you have needed repairs, coordinate for you, the tenants and the handyman to meet at the property to review the needed repairs. Then have the tenants and handyman exchange phone numbers and have them work out a time to do the repairs.
Prior to closing you should get from the owner the security deposits and the leases. If he says there are no leases and there are no security deposit, then visit the property and casually ask about the lease and security deposit. You do not want the tenant coming after you for a security deposit that you do not have.
Unelss it is an emergency, do not let anyone in the unit. The tenant must let them in the unit.
Brenda
ray_higdon,
Thanks for *attempting* to post a link.
Brenda,
I have 2 tenants currently. The one I plan to keep is on a lease till May and the tenants of the unit I plan to move into are month to month as of this month so I plan to give them 60 days.
I am getting the security deposits with interest and also 11 days of rent for the part of the month of August that I will be owner, and yes the leases/rental agreements, etc...
The repairs I want done asap are things that came up at the home inspection. Since all of the tenants work during the day I don't see how it is going to be possible for them to be there while the the repairs are being carried out. I'll have to look into that further.
Thanks for the reply and I will be hitting Barnes and Noble to check out that book and whatever else they have.
A coworker mentioned Staples has basic standard forms that I could probably use out of the box or tweak myself. Might look into that also.
-Dave
You might want to look into having the seller clean out the apartment you are going to live in. If it gets messy then the eviction is on the former owner. Unless of course you are not going to move in immediately after close.
Do a quick internet search for "landlord forms" or "landlord legal forms" There's a lot of good sites out there. Used to be some good ones for free but most of them are starting to charge small fees.
Landlording: A Handy Manual for Scrupulous Landlords and Landladies Who Do It Themselves (Landlording)
Excellent book with forms.
Maintenance work while tenants at work is no worry as long as you and maintenance trust each other and are professional. Tenants are getting better product by you doing work, they should be happy to see improvements. Helps build rapport with tenants and when you go to raise rents at renewal they won't balk as much.
As I've reccomended quite a few times, Shemin's secrets of a millionaire landlord is a great resource
blueford,
I've been scouring the internet looking for forms. I've not found any decent ones really. I have seen a few CD's for sale on various sites which have landlord forms and also single forms for sale as downloadable PDF's and MS Word documents. I'm just not sure if they are any good, or which are better than others, which is why I originally posted here. The best thing I found in my searches is this forum.
festival and ray,
Thanks for the book recommendations. I'll look into those when I hit Barnes and Noble tomorrow.
I stopped at an Office Max and found a landlord kit with forms but it really only had a few for someone beginning and trying to get tenants. More like forms for screening tenants and getting credit checks and references and such. My duplex is coming fully stocked and I actually will need to terminate the rental agreement of one tenant so I can move in.
I'm going to try Staples tomorrow and see if they have anything different and again... check out all the books that have been recommended.
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Big help.
I mostly use www.uslegalforms.com & www.landlord.com. One charges but the forms are in Word format and can be modified. The other has a small amount of freebies and charges for the rest. So far, I've found everything I need on these two sites.