Key pad deadbolts for rentals...

[Account Closed]

Yea or nay?

[John Underwood]

Long Term Rentals - Nay.

They cost a lot more.

They usually need batteries.

Any problem with this and you will get a call. It might just be batteries every time.

Keep it simple. 

[Account Closed]

@John Underwood Haha, avoiding the calls was the reason I wanted to use them. I thought that if someone didn’t have a key to lose I wouldn’t be getting a call in the middle of the night. I’ll have to look into the life of the battery etc. So, you have used them?

[Aigo Pyles]

Pros: 

1. It can work with smartphone (Depends on what you are going to buy)

2. No need for key

3. No lost keys

4. Easy to turn over units

5. Easy access

Cons:

1. the code number can be handed out to anyone

2. more costly

3. Maintenance (When the keypad is being used more often)

4. Batteries can die

I would use it for multi-unit. But for single residential unit, nay. 

[John Underwood]

Originally posted by @Account Closed:

@John Underwood Haha, avoiding the calls was the reason I wanted to use them. I thought that if someone didn’t have a key to lose I wouldn’t be getting a call in the middle of the night. I’ll have to look into the life of the battery etc. So, you have used them?

 I have 20 houses and have never had to let someone in their house because they lost a key. If your worried about it hide a lockbox on the property for emergency use. If they use it then you could change the code to keep the key from going missing in the future.

[Susannah Vila]

I’d argue that it’s more useful for single family — they tend to be farther apart which makes the travel time back and forth to let people in more costly. Also, as someone who’s been a tenant in a unit with a Latch installed, it’s definitely a perk!

Counterpoints to the cons mentioned here:

• Yes, they require batteries, but they are the kind of batteries that can be easily bought at the grocery store and replaced by your tenant so it’s not a huge deal. I used my Latch deadbolt many times a day over the course of two years and the battery never died.
• Yea, the tenant’s code could be handed out to anyone...kind of like they could hand their key out to anyone. For one-time visitors it's a lot more secure as long as you get a deadbolt that creates duration-specific codes - they only last for an hour or two (or less) and won't ever work after that. Latch and IglooHome definitely have this feature.
• They pretty much all have sensors that alert you when they’ve been left open and automatically locks the door for you - just mentioning to underscore the point that they’re more secure than keys.

One additional CON not mentioned here:

• All the deadbolts except for one rely on WiFi, so this just means that between tenants you’d need to keep the WiFi active

[Tracy Streich]

We have 600 rentals and use it on all we can.    We use the powerbolt 2. It does not do wifi.  We program a code for use and a specific code for the tenant.   You can give them a key as well bc it has a keyed entry.   They never get locked out and you can always access.   Batteries changed every year during inspection. 

[Account Closed]

Wow these are all very good points! It’s worth a try on a couple units and I’ll see how it goes and decide if I want to use them any more in the future