To rekey or not to rekey?

To rekey or not to rekey, is that the question?
Many people ask if it’s necessary to rekey their home or business. The answer is, it depends.
If the only keys to your property are in the possession of close friends, or trusted employees, then the odds of those keys being used for nefarious purpose is probably low. If on the other hand, you have just taken possession of a new home or business, it is - impossible to know how many keys to your property are floating around, and how trustworthy the holders are. A previous baby sitter? Dogsitter? Nanny? Contractor? You get the picture.

It’s always a good idea to rekey when you take possession of a new home or business, have given keys to a contractor for a remodel, or have lost track of who has keys to your home.
I recently rekeyed a houseboat after an unfortunate incident. It had been sold, and the new owner was moving in slowly. One evening when the new owner was away, a van pulled up, workers let themselves in, removed all the appliances, loaded them in the van, and drove away. This was observed by the neighbors, who assumed it was part of the ongoing remodel.

Ouch. Turns out the previous owner had not paid the contractor for work done prior to the sale of the houseboat, that contractor still had a key and “took payment” in the form of appliances. Instead of the minor expense of a locksmith visit/rekey job, the new owner was left to clean up a mess AND replace expensive appliances. Sometimes those old adages hold true. In this case: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”, or even “Pennywise, pound foolish”. Okay, enough on rekeying.