Change Your Locks and Change Your Life

Changing the locks on your  new home or businesses can make a huge impact on the security of your family and co-workers. The importance of  lock changes are often overlooked but can be a "key" indredient  for providing a safe environment for your loved ones. Consider these top 5 reasons to change your locks by your local Locksmith.  These may seems like commense sense to some, but maybe not  if you are  not in the security industry or have never owned property.

1. Moving to a New Home-

   Changing the locks on your newly purchased home, condo, or apartment may seem like  an obvious thing to do but you would be surprised how little people actually do it.  When you are handed the keys to your new residence, you have no idea who may have a copy of those keys. Does a previous cleaning lady or babysitter have a spare set?  Has the  previous dog walker  or home improvement contractor  been given spare set and  forgot to return them to the previous owner. Start out with a clean slate and practice smart key control methods. We are surprised when somone  pays  $400,000 for a home is Essex County but is reluctant to invest $115.00 to change the locks and protect whats inside of it. If you are purchasing a new home, call us a few days ahead of time and we can be there when your moving truck arrives.

2. Domestic Incident

This is never a fun part of our job, but unfortunately there are times when domestic violence occurs in the home.  You can change the locks in order to keep a threatening domestic partner or family member out of your home. Secure Lock and Alarm has an emergency mobile service which can get to your home quickly to help in these types of unfortunate events. When you call us in these situations, please mention that you feel threatened and we can arrange our schedule accordingly.

3. Termination of Employees

This is an expense that no business owner wants to incur but is a general cost of doing business. When employees are terminated, the locks on the building/office need to be changed regardless if the employee left on good terms or bad terms. You put your business at a liability when these former employees continue to have access to computers, billing information, customer contact information, money,and other proprietary information. Another option for your business is to use an access control system, card swipe, or keyless entry system. Keys are not used in these type of systems but rather fobs or ID Cards. When an employee leaves, then the owner or administrator simply cancels the fob or card access and the employee will no longer be able to enter. A heightened level of security is possible with access control systems because the cards can be programmed to let the owner know who came into the building, who left, and what time they entered and exited the office or  building.

4. Keys Simply Wear Out 

Like anything else, keys don't last for ever. Keys and pins wear out overtime, get dull, and no longer function. Hence, locks should be changed every 5 years. Key types change overtime and can become unavailable for duplication. Many times we will get calls from customers saying that they can't get their house key duplicated anywhere. Well their key was made 20 years ago and is no longer a current common key. 

5. High Security Keys and Key Control

   High Security Keys made by a Certified Locksmith may require an intial extra investment but offer the best solution to key control. When you have a restricted key, the only person that can get the key duplicated is the person who originally got the locks changed. So if you get your locks rekeyed and make 5 restricted keys at that time, then there are only 5 keys in the universe that can be used in those locks. You are the only one who can duplicate those keys. A housecleaner, dog walker, service provider, or ex-boyfriend,  cannot copy the key. Last week a customer from Beverly called and said that he wanted to have a restricted key made because his dog walker had keys made for his vacation replacement without telling the home owner. Unfortunately this happens all the time, the homeowner just doesn't  know it.

In closing, having your keys and locks changed is a small investment to secure your loved ones and special property. It can be done for less than the cost of your cable bill and can typically run $100-$150. Make sure that  you hire  a Certified Locksmith that has been invested  in your community for years.

Secure Lock and Alarm is based in  Beverly Ma and has been serving all the towns in Essex County MA since 1996. We proudly serve Salem Ma, Peabody MA, Danvers MA, Marblehead MA, Swampscott Ma, and Lynn MA,and  Gloucester MA. We answer the phone 24 hours a day and have a mobile emergency  locksmith division that can get your locks rekeyed in a few hours in most cases. We can be reached at 978-927-6400, sales@securelockandalarm.com, or by visiting our website atwww.securelockandalarm.com