Ever notice that tenants will lock themselves out at the worst possible times? Mine have called while I’m on vacation or out of town even once during an anniversary dinner.
Repairs needing help from contractors were always fun too. They would tell you when they would show up so you could meet them and let them in the property. But, those contractors always took a little longer on the jobs before yours and that wait was always a little (a lot) longer than you thought.
I used to go to my properties to let locked out tenants in (yes, I did charge them) or to let in contractors. As I got more properties however running here and there to unlock doors became quite the time consumer. I am lucky, most of my properties are pretty close to my home, but I know other landlords who live much farther away, even in the next town. So quickly running over to their property was not an option.
My solution to recapturing my time and reducing aggravation was to place key lockboxes at my properties, in which I put keys to every lock on the property. Now, if a tenant calls while I am on vacation or simply out of town, I can provide them with the access code to get their key and open their apartment. Now, when a trusted contractor needs to go to a property to make a repair, they have the access code to get the keys, make the repair and then lock it up upon leaving.
I use a lockbox from Master Locks. This lockbox has space for several keys. It is sturdy and hangs easily. Plus the combination code can be set and reset easily which I do from time to time or if a tenant has gained access.
These boxes have been a true time saver. No more going to let a locked out tenant in. No more waiting for contractors to show up. Now I just text them the address, the problem and the lockbox code and they text me back when done. Take some of your time back and get some of these lockboxes for your properties today. To save money and time, I get mine from Amazon.com. You can too by clicking this link.
