When you buy a house should you change the locks?

yes change them in all cases and not because you suspect the former owners kept keys with bad intentions. some things are just good business, u know? and congratulations!

As a GC, I recommend to all my clients that they should change them or atleast have them re-keyed! You just never know how many copies are floating out there and in who’s hands!

I would change them. I do that at apartments we rent, and just tell the landlord the lock broke so we fixed it ourselves haha.

It might cost a few hundred dollars but yes, change them and have peace of mind. It’s not just the former owners, who knows who all they may have made spares for over the years or how many keys were lost and then replaced.

It seems like a minor cost compared to the cost of buying a house. And you never know who the old owners gave keys out to. My sister always gives me a copy of her house keys.

Edit :: And it might not be bad to do a security audit of the house. For example, I know at my sisters last house that I can reach in through the dog door and unlock both locks. I have long skinny arms.

yeah you don’t want someone like @johnpowell having your keys! he’d raid your house, probably take the beer..who knows!

I agree with @Bagardbilla and @hungryhungryhortence. You never know how many copies might be floating around with the former owners’ friends/family/neighbors for emergency circumstances.

Absolutely change the locks if you don’t know how has keys.

Yes! And the alarm code if you have one! Our house was a foreclosure too and we demanded the locks be changed by the bank before we move in.

hmm… I never thought of doing that! That is actually a good idea. I say yes, change them.