The Importance of Rekeying Locks

One of the things most often overlooked when a family moves into a new home is having the locks re-keyed. To some, this may seem overly paranoid, but the truth is that this should be a standard practice. After all, you have no way of knowing who had a key to the current locks at one time. Even if you bought your home from someone you know and are comfortable with, you can’t be certain that they never lost one of their keys or trusted someone with it that they shouldn’t have.

Having a duplicate key made is easy as pie once the key has been obtained. Some career criminals thrive off of this practice. They talk others into leaving them a key for one reason or another and then stop by the local hardware store and have a replica made while they are doing whatever they were supposed to be doing for the homeowner. In some cases, they might just keep the key for months or years, waiting on someone else to move in. Professional thieves know that most people leave a spare key hidden somewhere outside of their home. Years of practice has let them become very proficient at finding these keys. They can steal the spare at any given point, have a duplicate made, and then put the spare right back where they found it. Even if they simply steal the key and never put it back, most homeowners would never know until something happened where the key was needed.

Criminals with this much forethought will wait. They are patient. They may use the key to enter the house when they know that no one is home just to peruse what might be inside ripe for stealing. If the current owner has little to offer, they may simply file the key away, waiting for the day that someone else comes along. Then, the new owner has something that they want, and it is the easiest burglary imaginable.

Having the existing locks re-keyed doesn’t cost a whole lot, but it brings much security and peace of mind. It rules out any former owners immediately if something goes awry. It also can fix a lot of problems. Many homes have different locks for some reason. Perhaps a lock was broken and had to be replaced. Now, the owner has to carry around multiple keys for each lock. A good locksmith can re-key all the locks to a new, random pattern, but one that all the locks in the house adhere to. This can mean letting go of some unnecessary keys jingling in your pocket.

You may have just moved into a new residence, but once your family and belongings are inside, you have a lot invested in the security of your home. Don’t let something as simple as someone having a key to your house be the difference between seeing your hard-earned things carted off in the night. Re-keying your locks is well worth it, even if the only payoff is sleeping a little better at night.

Michelle writes about home safety and fire safety for Fire Protection Online, the leading retailer of panic bars and panic bolts.