When you go away, anything can happen to your home. But you’re not there to take care of it. You might be overseas or hours away. Or you might be unable to travel for one reason or another. That’s why someone else that you can trust should have a key to your home.
Who Can Be Trusted With Your Home Key?
You can’t leave your house keys with just anyone, however. Let’s look at a few scenarios.
Neighbors?
Many people think that leaving a key with the neighbors is ideal. But those neighbors are taking care of their own homes and families and aren’t necessarily paying attention to your home. What if a pipe bursts inside, or a tree limb falls on the back porch? They may pick up the papers and mail and mow the lawn, but unless they make a special trip to check on your house inside and out, a problem will go unnoticed until you return. And by then, it is too late. There may be significant damage to your home.
And how well do you know your neighbors? Do you fully trust them to enter your home, and trust that they will not enter your home without permission? If a burglar breaks into your neighbor’s home and sees your key labelled with your address, that is an invitation to rob your home as well.
Friends?
Close friends are an option to care for your spare key. Again, trust is essential. Is this friend reliable enough to enter your home, and knowledgeable enough to notice if there is a problem like a water leak? Will they leave the lights on or forget to lock the back door? What if they misplace your key?
Related: 7 Ways Thieves Can Tell When You’re on Vacation (And How to Protect Yourself)
Family Members?
When deciding who should have the key to your home, remember that family members are busy with their own lives too. They likely won’t make a special trip just to walk through your home and check on it. They may be there in an emergency—you can call them to go to your house. But they don’t live next door or perhaps even nearby and won’t notice anything unusual at your home.
Insurance May Not Cover a Loss
If you give someone else your key, did you know that your homeowner’s insurance may not cover any loss? Your insurance company may require signs of a forced entry. Check your policy—theft by family members, ex-partners or neighbors who have a key may be excluded from your coverage.
Hidden Outside?
Burglars know all the favorite hiding places for keys hidden outside. In addition, your key could be taken by animals or dislodged by storms from its hiding place. If someone you designate uses this key, can you trust them to put it back in place before they leave your home? You don’t want that key to go missing if you need it for an emergency.
Professional Home Watch Service?
When you hire a professional home watch service, you are guaranteed that your home will be visited by a trained professional on a mutually-determined schedule. Your home will be inspected inside and out for problems or potential problems.
If a problem is discovered, you, as the homeowner, are notified immediately and given the option of letting the professional service arrange for repairs or remediation, or arranging your own.
When the home watch professional has your key, he or she can allow access to service professionals and remain on site to supervise their visit to your home. And as a professional in home systems, this representative can also ensure that the correct work is being performed. You can relax knowing that someone knowledgeable is in charge.
Who Should Have the Key to Your Home? Golden Rule Home Watch & Concierge.
Through Golden Rule’s Key Watch service, we list a number of reasons to let us hold the key to your home, including:
- Meeting and supervising contractors
- Accepting important deliveries
- Meeting and allowing access to visitors, friends, family or emergency response professionals
- Being an emergency contact with 24/7 alarm response
- Checking your home following a storm or power outage
- Preparing your home for your return
Key Watch is a low-cost option to access your home on an “as-needed” basis. We’re someone you can trust with the safety of your home.
Our team at Golden Rule Home Watch uses state-of-the-art technologies to ensure the safety of your home while you are away on vacation or an extended leave of absence, or have a second home or inherited property you need to protect. As professionals trained in home systems, we know what to look for and perform our exclusive 40-point interior and exterior assessment, with a detailed per-visit digital report delivered to you immediately following our visit through our Home Watch service.
Contact Golden Rule Home Watch & Concierge today to learn more about our Key Watch and Home and Car Watch services. We’re bonded, licensed and background-checked for your security.