Drill a hole directly above the slot for the key and you destroy the locks integrity. 

If you are going to try it anyway, you need to get in a low competition slot.

The key to me was to create a "calendar" with all of my available slots, look at who is going that I would conceivably work with, and then reach out to them to schedule a chat prior to leaving for the conference.

They have 1 slot open Monday and that if I make a decision today he can replace the unit with a brand new model then (it was a Saturday).

You will get burned but it’s par for the course, I let them know they can make slot of money of me once or they can have a repeat customer for years.

I check my "competitors" from time to time and there's a lot of empty slots in their calendars for the late spring and summer, just like mine.

Keep in mind the subs will want to time slot the work.

(If the image doesn't display well, you can also find the chart here)I also made note of various helpful reviews (many from BP):LifeProof +s: "best overall," "easy to install, great value," LifeProof -s: "tabs break during install"TM Allure Ultra +s: "held up great"TM Allure Ultra -s: negative reviews on houzz, subfloor unevenness issuesSmartcore Ultra -s: negative reviews on houzzNuCore +s: "great over imperfect subfloor"NuCore -s: "shouldn't be used in wet rooms"DuraLax -s: weight limit and issues with area rugsMohawk SolidTech -s: lots of bad reviews on floorcriticsCoreTec +s: great product at great priceI ended up going with CoreTec ProPlus since I found it on sale for $2.50, and I'm actually not very happy with it! 

For Winter 2024, more affordable Midwestern and Northeastern markets dominated the Top 20 list, with Ohio alone taking 5 slots.

That is what it all boils down to.If a lender asks what your plan is and you say there is a new slot machine in Vegas you want to try out, that probably isn't going to fly.If you say you found a 4 bed 2 bath built in 2015 that you can buy for $350,000 and after fix up of $40,000 will sell for $500,000 that gets the conversation started.