Buying House without Keys

cheapass88 on 12/12/2016 - 14:17

Hi All,

I recently bought a house (yay to debt!)

The previous owner never lived there as he sub-divided the property.

I bought the main area and was given keys on the day of settlement.

There are 3 entrances to the house.

1 door which is where the house got subdivided and there's a random door in the back that no normal person would use as it doesn't lead anywhere.

Front door and back door both have screen and main door.
I have the keys to both screens but the keys don't work for both main doors!

I emailed the agent and they said there's nothing they can do.. and to just replace the locks.

This is not something someone usually inspects, right? they don't give you keys until settlement.

Is there any legal action I can take?

I couldn't even get into the house initally! Frustrating!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Nugs on 12/12/2016 - 14:22
    +11

    why would you NOT want to change the locks anyway - I guess it depends on the level of trust you put in previous occupier of the house.

  • battler on 12/12/2016 - 14:22
    +2

    change the locks anyway. you never know who has a spare key.
    should be one of the first items anyone does when buying a new place.

  • cheapass88 on 12/12/2016 - 14:23

    I'm actually renting it anyway. And i'll have house insurance… so I thought i'd save as much as possible. very poor…. lol

    • SnoozeAndLose on 12/12/2016 - 14:31
      +1

      They are not necessary to give you all the keys as the keys may have been lost.

      You just check the lock on the fly screen yourself, normally cost less then $30 a lock and you should also take the lock on the main door and re-key.

      Although you have insurance , it take time and hassle if there is a break in or your insurance not going to pay you as the people got their key and come in.

      Changing the lock now might cost you few hundred but you need not to worry if the previous owner coming back and take whatever he want.

      • JIMB0 on 12/12/2016 - 14:48
        +1

        The average door lock on a house is ridiculously easy to pick, so easy that insurance wouldn't know if someone had the key or picked the lock.

        Best to install some high security locks.

        • Diji1 on 12/12/2016 - 19:34
          +1

          The average door lock on a house is ridiculously easy to pick

          Not that you'd bother because you can force any door that isn't reinforced in about 5 seconds using a crowbar lel.

    • Charity on 12/12/2016 - 14:57
      +2

      What about your tenants well being? It is OK if they get robbed? They are not you and you get to save a couple of bucks, right?

      Consider your tenants having the same attitude… "it's only a rental, we won't have to take care of it. We're very poor… lol." * puts out a Winnie Blue on OP's carpet

      • JIMB0 on 12/12/2016 - 15:00
        -4

        A tenant can change the locks themselves when they move in.

        • alxr0101 on 13/12/2016 - 07:43
          +2

          If you read a standard lease, tenants cannot change the locks without your permission.

          Tenants must also provide the landlord with copy of keys.

        • JIMB0 on 13/12/2016 - 10:48
          +1

          @alxr0101: I changed the locks when I leased the house I'm in now. Gave the agent a copy of the key, no issue's, totally compliant with the conditions of the lease.

    • [Deactivated] on 13/12/2016 - 09:28
      +2

      You just bought a house. I doubt you're poor

  • snook on 12/12/2016 - 14:53

    I bought a house Feb 15 and never got around to changing the locks. So far, we've not had any extra visitors.

    • SnoozeAndLose on 12/12/2016 - 14:59

      lucky you, it is just up to the owner.

      There is a chance to have extra visitor or not having them, not 100% saying that is necessary.

      Someone think Homebrand is the best, someone think Homebrand is not consumable. People have freedom to choice what they want.

      • snook on 13/12/2016 - 10:48
        +1

        Well we MEANT to change them and even bought new locks … but there's always something else that's more important to do, so it never happened.

  • RockyRaccoon on 12/12/2016 - 16:19
    +1

    Is there any legal action I can take?

    Yes and no

    You should have checked when you took possession.

    However in theory while you might have a case, in reality, the time you spend working out to sue, then brief counsel, or even a tribunal, is it going to be worth it?

    Move on and spend time at Ozbargain saving $1 on your next panadol packet, and getting free coasters from some obscure chinese site.

  • djkelly69 on 12/12/2016 - 17:43
    +1

    You could probably go to court and argue there was an implied condition in the contract that he would give you such keys as was reasonably required to access the property and he hasn't, etc, etc.

    It would also cost you about $300-$500 just for a solicitor to listen to your complaint, let alone do any work on it.

    Just change the locks and move on.

  • TheBean on 12/12/2016 - 19:53
    +1

    You should just change locks (safer) and make them all the same key since you are renting it out anyway.

    But for you question on legal action… I think it'll be fair more effort and frustrating than following everyone else's suggestions and moving on since it's generally a cost you would want to do when you get a new place.

  • holoz0r on 13/12/2016 - 07:26
    +1

    Did you pick up your keys from the agent? What key was the agent using when he was opening the property for inspections.. .the fault lies with the selling agent, I would complaint to the principal of the property agency before any 'action'. …Can't believe no one has mentioned this!

  • coffeerequired on 13/12/2016 - 09:07

    Pop these everywhere, if your tenants change then change the codes instead of the lock! http://bit.ly/2hrebN5

  • ozbargainoid on 13/12/2016 - 09:18
    +1

    Did you look in the letter box or the meter box, sometimes they are in there.

  • Euphemistic on 13/12/2016 - 10:14
    +1

    Not a biggie, get some new locks or keys.

    First house I had all the locks changed, didn't cost much.

    Our last house there was a whole bunch of keys some of which were random and didn't do anything but there were two locks without keys. I never replaced them because the door either wasn't used or was lockable from inside. Didn't bother with a locksmith to change locks but did install a new front screen door and replaced the rear door lock after a while.

    Current house I had to 'break into' on the first day as the agent gave us the wrong key. Luckily there was a set of keys in the kitchen. Still got the same front door key, but have changed the garage remotes as the motor died.

  • pebee47 on 13/12/2016 - 12:59

    Previous rental = change ALL door locks immediately. No contest, just do it and move on with your New Best Debt

  • [Deactivated] on 13/12/2016 - 17:42

    Depending on the type of lock and whether the doors are actually open, you can just change the barrels.
    It shouldn't cost you more than $20 each with a couple of keys.

  • rt1111 on 13/12/2016 - 20:22
    +1

    Just change them for f's sake. Peace of mind. If you managed to spend $x00,000 on a house, you can spend $x0 on a few locks.

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