One of the very first matters of concern for people looking to rent a new house /apartment should be the assessment of their security degree inside the new property – and its enhancement in any way possible. If you will be living nearby other tenants or if you will be submitted to high volumes of foot or vehicle traffic on a daily basis, you will be confronted with a higher risk of intrusion. In this regard, there are some questions you can ask before signing the new lease and picking a new place to stay in until you can afford your own house.
Things To Do Before Moving In
- Consider the security of the residence you are about to pay rent for the next at least 12 months. Check out l crime rates in the city/town/neighborhood and learn everything you can about the robberies, murders, and other types of troubling activities in the vicinity before sealing the deal. Get in touch with local police officers and the person who could become your landlord or go online and do your own research on sites like CrimeReports or SpotCrime.
- Get new door locks so you can reduce the risk of unwanted people accessing your new rental. While the majority of landlords will say they have replaced the locks, it is not uncommon for apartment managers to simply rotate old locks between apartments. This means not all extra keys were returned to the landlord, and there might still be someone somewhere holding on to a key from your new place. Ask the landlord to change the old locks with brad new ones and not solely redistributed ones and never take any unnecessary risks.
- The landlord should get in touch with a reliable local locksmith company and set up a date and time of your convenience to get the job done without disturbing you too much.
- Inspect the locks on the windows and try to assess their degree of security. If you think they enable easy access into the apartment, get in touch with a professional lock technician you can find on a rich database like this one here http://www.locksmiths-search.com. With over 10,000 verified and authorized locksmiths listed here, it is impossible not to come across a lock repairman you can trust. Check their credential and call their references before setting an appointment and have your new windows assessed by a professional eye. All locks should work properly – with zero possibilities of being manipulated from the outside. If this is not the case, the locksmith will recommend the best solutions – installation of different locks or the use of an additional set of locks or deadlocks for enhanced security.
- The overall security of the building also needs to be taken into consideration. Often times, outside entry doors need keys or pass codes to be opened, and the majority of buildings have buzz-in access systems to hallways or apartment doors. Break-ins and solicitors can this way be successfully avoided, provided the respective security systems are working effectively.