New House - did you get the locks changed?

malteser

Hiya
We have at last exchanged and are due to complete next week. I assumed that we would get the locks changed however when i asked the estate agent about it I was told that its never happened and shes never been asked before as its a matter of trust........

I think we will anyway as the insurance company will give us a small discount for putting on a certain type of lock and anyway it generally makes me uneasy to know that someone out there may still have a key to my front door!

So what do you think, am i being paranoid?
m

rchddap1

If that is what makes you comfortable in your new home then do it.

squeaky

You have no idea how many neighbours or relatives might have "emergency" keys either. I can't imagine not changing locks.

dougk_2

If you have a yale lock it pays to replace this - they only cost a few quid and they do wear anyway . I always fit slide bolts on the back door so it can only be opened from the inside. Many front doors have both "yale" and "chubb" locks so changing one is sufficient in my view.

I posted a suggestion on the DIY section a week or so ago about locks.

One thinng to do is swap locks with someonelse if they are the same - both me and my brother moved on the same day so we simply swapped locks from his house to mine and the other way round.

lipidicman

dougk wrote:

One thing to do is swap locks with someonelse if they are the same - both me and my brother moved on the same day so we simply swapped locks from his house to mine and the other way round.

Great idea. And to the OP, I would do it. Remember on a UPVC door you can just change the barrell - my tip: dont buy from b&q (£20-30) go to a door manufacturer with a fiver in your hand and they should help you out (nudge nudge)

gremlin

Always, Always change them - even is its just the barrels.

Ten years ago we bought a house from an 'older' couple. Anyway we exchanged contracts, but they hadn't moved anything from the garage and we said that's no problem they could come back the next Saturday for them and we'd be happy to let them in. A couple of weeks later they still hadn't taken everything but I came home from work one day and just felt that someone had been in. Nothing seemed to have been touched in the house, but I just had that feeling. Anyway two days after that, I came home from work early in a panic with a threatened miscarriage and was tearfully coming through my front door looking for my partner, when they were both standing in my kitchen!
Apparently they had still kept the keys to the garage, front and back doors. They actually had the cheek to stand there as if nothing was wrong. We discovered later that they'd been back a couple of times before and just let themselves in - not only to the garage but in the house too.

The moral is dont trust anyone you dont know, no matter how nice they seem.

terrierlady

yes I would change them and on new developments don't presume that the site staff keep a spare key they dont for obvious reasons , you would be amazed at how many people ask me to borrow the site spare key.

calleyw

I have not changed out locks yet.

But will do very soon. I know the person we bought from is still very local. just a few streets away.

But as I am at home most of the time and I don't have a car so they can't tell if I am home or not.

But you are right not to trust anyone. I will have a chat with hubby about it again to tonight.

As they wanted the mangolia tree from the garden after it flowered. We said yes. But what gets me is the house has been on the market since december so why not dig it up then. Some people I swear do things like that do frive you mad.

A bit like not forwarding there post.

Yours

Calley

lipidicman

calleyw wrote:

As they wanted the mangolia tree from the garden after it flowered. We said yes. But what gets me is the house has been on the market since december so why not dig it up then.

But they would have wanted to wait until they had somewhere to plant it! But honestly, taking a tree? Did they leave you anything? You do have lightswitches and bulbs right?

dougk_2

When my brother moved into his house, the previous owners took the lightbulbs (and they were not special ones - just plain standard lightbulbs).

When my mum moved she took the lightbulbs - they were engergy saving ones and at the time cost £10 each , but she did replace them with brand new ones from wickes for about £3!

lipidicman

Thats what I would do - my energy bulbs cost me more than £100 so I would switch for bog standards!