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We are closing on a new construction home soon. I asked about how the home owners usually go about replacing the locks once they move in (getting it rekeyed vs. buying and installing a new lock). They said that they have a construction key and once we move in we insert the home owner key and the lock rekeys itself so that the construction key no longer works. Problem is they said somehow the lock was already rekeyed and they are using our real keys to open the doors for the workers right now. The construction key no longer works to open the doors. They said they will return all sets of our keys at closing.
I am not too happy about this. Is this something worth asking them to somehow replace before we close? Or should we just buy new locks anyway regardless if their rekeying system worked? Also, can we still rekey the door locks or do we have to just buy new locks and install them?
If they screwed up and started using the real keys and gave them out, I would insist that they pay a locksmith to re-key the place or install new locks.
They screwed up, they get to fix it. This is not really any different than anything else that is not installed correctly. Why should you pay to fix it?
Depending on the brand, some locks have the ability to be rekeyed by the owner as long as you have the necessary parts that come with the original lock.
If you lock doesn't have that kind of technology, they should be able to get them re-keyed and give you new keys that have not been floating around during construction. And this should definitely be something you insist on prior to closing.
As concerned as you are, and should be, I'd call my own locksmith to re-key the home, after closing. $75 bucks or so. If you had your builder re-key it, it sounds like you'd always wonder if someone made an extra key.
It cost me about $6 a lock to rekey at the local hardware store, or you can buy a rekeying set for probably $12 for four locks. Learn to use a screw driver, welcome to home ownership.
As concerned as you are, and should be, I'd call my own locksmith to re-key the home, after closing. $75 bucks or so. If you had your builder re-key it, it sounds like you'd always wonder if someone made an extra key.
^^^I would just do this. We always rekey locks after moving into any new house. We had a locksmith come out and rekey 4 doors. It was about 70 bucks.
If they are the Smartkey locks, which it sounds like, all you need is any new Quikset compatible key and the tool and you can rekey it yourself. No need to replace the locks.
However, I would absolutely change the garage door code the first day (assuming you have a garage with a keypad opener). As a builder, I will tell you that while none of our subs have keys, every single one of them knows the code to the garage.
Wow. You are going to have a long road ahead of you in home ownership if changing the locks is a major deal...
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