Lock Safety

Another blogger, Chris Little, posted an excellent piece on lock safety.  It was a good reminder to buyers that it's wise to change your locks or have them re-keyed after you take possession of your new home.  When I read the post, I smiled.  The home I currently live in was owned by a former client of mine.  He was an efficient person and eventually owned 3 properties on the same block: a small apartment building and 2 single family homes.  He didn't believe in large key rings.  My husband and I purchased the 5 unit building and the small Victorian home.  At the closing table, my former client pushed a bank bag of keys across the table to us and deadpanned to us with a wink.  "The red ones are the master keys.  They open every door for every property I own, and there are a couple people in the neighborhood who have had possession of these keys.  You might want to change the locks."  I was flabbergasted.  It's not unusual for landlords to master key their buildings, but to have a personal residence mastered to the same key is not common.  My former client carried one key for these 3 properties and his farm up north.  Because he had been in Bosnia the prior 2 years, he had left the master key with a couple neighbors who watched his properties.  He was not sure all the keys had been returned and thus the warning!  Needless to say the locksmith met us at our new property the day we moved in!