Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Aug 10, 2017 16:58:24 GMT -5
So, my relative forgot their spare key to my house... and thankfully, before they applied a pry bar to front door they called to ask if there was a spare key they could use instead. (I love my family).
I was VERY glad they called -because yes indeed there is a hidden key (which will now need a new hiding place...)
I don't want to know where you hide your key - just if you have a hidden key (or a key with a neighbor/other relative) OR if you have one of those new fangled high tech locks with a combination or a lock you can open from your phone. How do you cope with someone who needs to get into your house when you are not there? (I can't be the only person with this kind of potential problem).
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 10, 2017 17:08:01 GMT -5
I have a spare key that lives indoors and gets loaned out as needed.
if my pups were going to be home alone longer than they currently are on weekdays, I would likely get a lockbox and hang it in the fenced in backyard somewhere.
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justme
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Post by justme on Aug 10, 2017 17:16:44 GMT -5
My HOA requires a key for every unit so if it's during office hours I can borrow them. I do have one of those locks you can unlock with your phone that I need to install.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Aug 10, 2017 17:20:21 GMT -5
It's hidden now, but I've left the side garage door unlocked for our contractor before. My MIL used to have it. I kept it when I accidentally locked myself out and had to get it from her at work. It used to drive me nuts that she had it. She'd come over occasionally for dinner, and if we didn't get to the door quickly enough to unlock it, she'd just let herself in.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 10, 2017 17:25:16 GMT -5
I have a hidden spare key and our neighbor's have a spare set. Our garage door has a keypad. I think you can set it up with a 'guest code' good for one use. I'll have to check on that. We just give it out our normal one as needed. If your garage keypad was sold by a garage door opener manufacturer, I suspect it is far from secure. I think of these keypad controls as basically having a garage door button installed outside the garage. They are convenient, but not high security.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 10, 2017 17:28:51 GMT -5
We use an old style realtor's key lock box. Allows access, but you keep some control of the keys.
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CCL
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Post by CCL on Aug 10, 2017 19:26:42 GMT -5
Don't forget, your electronic opener/lock won't work if the power is out or the battery is dead. I don't carry a house key with me, but we have an old-school lock box.
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Deleted
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Spare key?
Aug 10, 2017 19:27:15 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2017 19:27:15 GMT -5
My neighbor (aunt) has a key, plus I have a hidden spare and a keypad for the garage but the reality is the house is rarely locked or if it is I just go in and out through the garage with the opener. I honestly don't remember the last time I used a key to get in.
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chiver78
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Post by chiver78 on Aug 10, 2017 19:28:06 GMT -5
My HOA requires a key for every unit so if it's during office hours I can borrow them. I do have one of those locks you can unlock with your phone that I need to install. um, no. are you in a high-rise building or something like that? wow.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Aug 10, 2017 19:34:40 GMT -5
It is hidden in the garage.....which is useless.
We went out for dinner. The garage door pad was broken, drove my car didn't have an opener and my keys didn't have a house key on the ring. Got home around 10 and were locked out. Tried to break a window, and discovered that all the windows that you'd break to get in, don't break with a hammer. No neighbors had a house key, but TD's mom had one. We had to drive up to Vancouver to retrieve her key.
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justme
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Post by justme on Aug 10, 2017 19:36:07 GMT -5
My HOA requires a key for every unit so if it's during office hours I can borrow them. I do have one of those locks you can unlock with your phone that I need to install. um, no. are you in a high-rise building or something like that? wow. Not high-rise, but it is a building with 300 units. They still need permission to enter, but they use it for things our hoa covers like pest control if you request it in your unit and they have someone clean the dryer vents and things like that.
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lund
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Post by lund on Aug 11, 2017 4:57:16 GMT -5
No hidden keys. If we hide one and it is found and illicitly used, the insurance won't pay for anything, neither theft nor damage nor vandalism. We carry one each, and have a spare that is occasionally loaned if needed.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 5:58:32 GMT -5
We have a couple of keys hidden outside. We have two decks. The larger one has no stairs and two-story drop to the ground. The door has both a deadbolt and the lock in the doorknob. So it is very easy to lock yourself out. So there is a key hidden somewhere on that deck plus outside the house as well Before we hid a key on the large deck, we locked ourselves out while on it. We had contractors there, and one was working on the little deck. He did not speak English. We had to pantomime what was happening and where the key was. I'm sure he thought at first we were merely crazy.
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resolution
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Post by resolution on Aug 11, 2017 7:15:19 GMT -5
We just have one spare that we loan out to guests. It is on a key ring inside the house. None of our doors have locking doorknobs, they all have just one deadbolt, so its impossible to lock yourself out without using the key to lock the door behind you. If we ever lose both keys while we are out and about, then we will either have to break something or be in locksmith territory. I suspect I would be in locksmith territory, and DH would be circling the house looking for the best thing to break.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Aug 11, 2017 7:36:23 GMT -5
Three friends each have a house key. We all happen to be each other's cat sitters, so easiest thing is to just have a key anyway. If someone needs to get in and we're not home (example, landscaper friend coming by when we're at work) then we'll hide a key and let them know where.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 11, 2017 8:15:50 GMT -5
No hidden keys. My parents have a copy of my key and I have a copy of theirs. Once I managed to not only lock myself out of my house but their house too! I had gone over to let the dog out and for some stupid reason locked my door. I then proceeded to leave my keys in their house and lock teh door! Fortunately I had my cell phone with me so I called DH and told him I was locked out. He told me go get the key from my parents. .. yeah about that. He had to come break me in with a credit card. I don't know how he learned how to do that and I don't want to know but thank God he knows how to do that.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Aug 11, 2017 8:24:07 GMT -5
My grandparents live next door and they have a key. My parents also have a copy and I have a key to their house.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 8:25:17 GMT -5
If I know someone is coming that I completely trust (that list is small) I will leave my keys in my garage (detached) and give them the code. It's really the only option I have where I live.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Aug 11, 2017 8:46:10 GMT -5
I'm too paranoid and forgetful to leave a key stashed somewhere outside--we only have two and they are on our respective car key rings. There aren't many situations I can think of where someone would be coming over while we weren't home if we hadn't already made prior arrangements to give them a key... but if something did happen, I suppose they could drop by DH's work and get it from him. My mom has never locked her doors, even after we were burglarized in the late 90s. These days, she'll lock them if she's on vacation or something, but still doesn't do it on a regular basis. Meanwhile I'm the one who has all the deadbolts in the house turned while we're just sitting around watching TV.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 8:59:02 GMT -5
I just realized I don't even have a key to the house on my key ring. Just my van key and one to the camper. I'm sure I used to, so I must have switched to my spare van key set at some point. The other set is in the "drawer of doom". (anytime I want to find anything in there I have to practically it all out on the counter). I'm in an area where nobody locks things up though. Most people even if they lock their house have sheds and barns filled with expensive 4-wheelers and snowmobiles not locked up either and vehicles are left with the keys in the ignition. People just don't get robbed around here and on the rare occasion you hear about it, it often turns out to be an inside job with it being family or a farm worker. I'm sure I just jinxed myself, but I figure everyone else around me has lots better stuff to steal than I do. I did start start getting into the habit of locking the doors at night when my ex was taken away because I was afraid he'd show up in the night sometime, but I've kind of gotten out of that now. I will if I think of it coming in for the evening, but I won't make a special trip out to the garage to check if the door is locked. In the morning before leaving for work I'll often intentionally unlock it because I like the mail lady to be able to put things inside if the weather is bad.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Aug 11, 2017 9:15:08 GMT -5
My DIL couldn't get over the fact, like MPL we don't lock the house. DD has a key and I think I have one. We have a keypad on the garage door but if the inside doors are locked well can't get in.
If we go on a trip we lock the garages and house, otherwise they aren't.
DIL locks the garage door and the inside door to the laundry room she is so scared even with all of us here. Son wants to live in the country, she said I'm not. He keeps sending pictures of all these water front houses with various level patios on the lake and stuff. I told him that is not practical for them, they need a fenced yard for the dog and 2 year old. I said if you buy something like that you are just creating problems for yourself and you know it, and will regret it. He doesn't want close neighbors on top of them. I have tried to explain to her you need some distance too. But here is someone that has lived in apartments or close houses all her life. Glad I'm not them. Hubby and I fought the same battles, we lived in town half our lives, semi rural in Texas and rural but not really here so I understand. Also he is going to be gone training a lot and she is not the type to mow 2 or 3 acres like me, so again kidding himself.
Why people think others will change is beyond me. I compromised but if I end up alone one day I will move to town too. Though not in an old neighborhood with houses very close together, there is one with at least half acre or bigger lots I will choose. Wish them good luck.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Aug 11, 2017 9:42:29 GMT -5
No hidden key, we don't lock our doors.
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buystoys
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Post by buystoys on Aug 11, 2017 9:50:33 GMT -5
We have a combination key box on our back porch. People don't seem to notice it. We were away for a couple of days and I had to have my neighbor put a package inside the house. She looked and looked for the key box and had to call me to find it. My sister also has a spare and I have a spare to her house as well.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Aug 11, 2017 9:58:26 GMT -5
Sister has the extra garage door opener which worked great when I had surgery. She just let herself in.
I also have an old fashioned lock box with a key in it. I set the combination. I did this because I have locked myself out of this house twice. I need a way to get back in.
When the water softener company is coming, I do unlock the garage door because I don't want them traipsing though the living room and kitchen to get to the steps to the basement. From garage, all they do is go right to basement and put the salt in.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 11, 2017 10:00:35 GMT -5
No hidden keys but 3 of my friends have keys to my house.
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Value Buy
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Post by Value Buy on Aug 11, 2017 10:13:07 GMT -5
So, my relative forgot their spare key to my house... and thankfully, before they applied a pry bar to front door they called to ask if there was a spare key they could use instead. (I love my family).
I was VERY glad they called -because yes indeed there is a hidden key (which will now need a new hiding place...)
I don't want to know where you hide your key - just if you have a hidden key (or a key with a neighbor/other relative) OR if you have one of those new fangled high tech locks with a combination or a lock you can open from your phone. How do you cope with someone who needs to get into your house when you are not there? (I can't be the only person with this kind of potential problem).
Spare keys? We cannot find our door keys let alone our spare keys
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Aug 11, 2017 10:42:48 GMT -5
No hidden keys but DD and DS have spare keys. If we go out of town, one of our neighbors kids comes over to take care of our cat, so we give her a spare too but get it back when we come home.
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Post by empress of self-improvement on Aug 11, 2017 15:10:10 GMT -5
I've been spreading spare keys far and wide. Currently my sister and one of DH's brothers' has one. I will be passing them out to a nephew and 2 more brothers. I need them to have them in case of an emergency with DH. I don't know if I want to leave one outside. I suppose I could but not sure where. We're wide open so it's not something that could be done discreetly.
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Chocolate Lover
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Post by Chocolate Lover on Aug 11, 2017 16:27:27 GMT -5
When I was a kid the carport had the laundry room attached to the back. It had its own door and there was an upright freezer in there. Mom put the spare key in the freezer. I'm sure all zillion of our friends knew it was there.
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swamp
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Spare key?
Aug 11, 2017 16:40:20 GMT -5
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Post by swamp on Aug 11, 2017 16:40:20 GMT -5
I don't even know where the keys are. We don't lock the door.
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