Protecting Your Rehab Investment

Duh! Use a Lock Box! Nope. It isn't rocket science, either. In this case, I'm telling you to spend a few extra dollars to make your life a little simpler. If your time is important, and you feel you need to lock up your properties when nobody is around, buy enough lock boxes for as many projects as you have going. You know what a lock box is, right? Lock boxes are attached to the door knob of the property. If you have a key, or the right combination, you can easily get a key from inside, which unlocks the house. They are tough, relatively simple, and a great time-saver. My workers are used to these little contraptions. I haven't had much problems with properties being left open thus far. So, they are a pretey secure idea. (Often they have tools in the house they don't want stolen!) Time savings is perhaps the biggest reason for using a lock box. It's a wonderful thing to place a call to your electrician and describe the problem you're having in a property, give them the lock box code, and BAM! they fix the problem! It took only a minute of my time. I typically have 2-3 projects going at once. So, I have 4-5 lock boxes. After closing, that's the first thing I do...get over to the property and put one on. I have a freind that goes through great difficulty with keys. He hides them on the outside of houses, under doormats, rocks, where ever he can come up with. When they are lost, time is lost until he can get over there and open the house. There's no reason to mess with that! Here is the kind I use, and I pay about $30 each for mine. There are other kinds, but I like the idea of a 4-5 digit combination. Here are some tips for using your lock boxes: - Don't put them on the front door. Using a back or side door doesn't advertise to everyone that the house is vacant. - Consider using a common code for the houses you have in rehab. I tend to use the same group of laborers, so it works well to make it easy for them to come and go. - On the other hand, be quick to change the combo. For instance, if you ruffle the feathers of say, your plumber, you might not want them in your properties for awhile. - Never, NEVER give the code to anyone but laborers. In other words, don't allow potential tenants to tour the house by using the code to let themselves in. This is bad for many reasons, a few of which are serious liability, security, and temptation. I learned this the hard way. I let someone in who was about to move in (lease to be signed the next day). No harm right? Well, they had a few hours to kill, so they nit-picked the house and presented me with a huge list of things they thought should be improved. Now I want to be present when someone inspects the house so I can address issues as they arise. - Be smart about the combo. "1-2-3" is a little too easy. - Use at least 4 digits for your combination. Make it something YOU can remember. - Leave your lock box on until the house is sold or leased. There are always last minute things to be done, and you will need to allow folks access, without you being there everytime. Protect your rehab real estate!