Locksmith
 

I had such a great response to my question I thought I would ask about a Locksmith. Moving there next month and will need to change the locks after closing. Any recommendations?
Thanks

any handy man should be able to assist you no need for a lock smith

Kwikset Lock?
 

If you have a villages home which uses KWIKSET locks, that little slot allows you to change the key at anytime (insert the key) then the special pin into that slot (shown in red arrow) then inset any other key of that brand- remove the special pin and it's changed.

I did this so my northern home and my FL home now uses the same key.

No locksmith needed.

If it's a NEW home they will hand you extra keys and this special pin in an envelope.

If you are buying a new house there is no need to change the locks. We just closed at the end of last month. On closing they will re-key the locks so that The Villages sales agents no longer have access to your house.

I've used Derek at DNA Locksmith before and was pleased with his work and fees.

Please do not forget to change the codes on the garage door opener, first delete ALL existing codes, then set a new code in the remote and reprogram the garage door opener. Now I do not know if this is still the case, but I was told (6+ years ago) there was a contractor code in the garage door openers, and this allowed the contractor to move from house to house while they were under construction.
Welcome to TV.

Kwikset Re-key kit
 

Post #3 is right on. As long as the locks are Kwikset, which they probably are.
You'll likely only have three locks total. Two at front door and one at garage entry door.

You can get a Kwikset re-key kit from Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, & hardware stores.
I'm not sure how necessary it is to change, but for peace of mind maybe.

Here's a link to the kit at Amazon. $9.47
Be sure to watch the 15 second video at that link.

Robot Check
(the link says "Robot Check" but it does work)

We had "Lock It Up" out several times last year. Brian the owner is knowledgeable and provides a great service. Phone: 352-360-0300.

He re-keyed the locks the day we closed and then came back to install new locks a few weeks later. Great guy!

Inset any other Kwikset key? Where do you get another key? I’m confused. Tell us more, please?

See post 7 for re-key kit info
 

Please back up and re-read post #7

Also click the words "Robot Check" it's really a link (this forum does that word change)
It's a link to the re-key kit at Amazon and all the information you could need.

Excellent information...thanks.

Great information...thanks.

I brought the three locks (easily removable—two on front door and one on door leading to the garage) to Ace Hardware in Wildwood, and they rekeyed them while I waited. It didn't take long and was fairly reasonable.

We put in electronic combination locks, these lock automatically when the door closes, and if I forget my keys it does not matter, I have the combination. Also, I can put in temporary codes for others who may need access to the house, and then remove these codes when access is no longer needed.

What kind of license does a Locksmith have?

I’d love this. Did you do it yourself?

They're super simple to install. You can buy them at Lowe's, Home Depot, or Amazon. All you'll need is a screwdriver.

Do it yourself... Its actually quite easy!

OP sometimes u just don’t want to deal with it, so posts with reviews are very helpful. Our new house, none of the keys would lock or unlock the deadbolts. Only one key worked ok, and then it didn’t.

Mind you this is a brand new house with brand new locks and keys.

So warranty department sent out their locksmith. He worked on all of the locks about a half an hour they would not re-key they would not reset they would just plainly not work he said it happens. So he removed all of the locks and installed new ones. No cost to us.

As noted above, the electronic locks are very easy to install, these use the EXISTING holes in the doors. I did NOT use any that have wireless capability, I am too concerned about the wifi being hacked. I think out locks are Shelage (SP?) and are several years old, we used them up North and brought them with us. Lowe's and Hone Depot and probably ACE all carry these, figure about $100 to $150 per door.

:icon_wink: Copy and paste that same question in "GOOGLE" after adding "in Florida" to the end of it. Lot's of info. :ho:

I’d long since done that, which I why I asked the person who mentioned the person being “licensed”. From what I found, locksmiths aren’t required to be licensed in Florida, in fact only several counties require it.

Invest in NEST!
 

Same image as in post 3- but in 9 months I learned- get NEST for the doorbell, the door lock, the thermostat, the smoke detectors & cameras with sound/mic.

• Doorbell is a direct wire to existing wired doorbell
• Door lock is remote access as well as keypad
• Thermostat is geo ready which means when your phone leave the house the thermo can move to eco mode automatically
• Smoke detectors are carbon and also illuminate when you walk under (great night light)
• Cameras have motion and all can hear/speak and record in the cloud.

All of the items above can be seen in 1 APP on your smartphone.

*Also shown I removed the second keyed handle (I've had a few neighbors mention) they were at the pool and the housekeeper left and closed the front door which locked. (they had to call a locksmith) - I removed that locked handle and replaced it with a closed door which now gave me a secured lockable closet . (clothes are expensive.. HAHA) you get the idea. (visitors , etc)

Secondly- CALL MUNNS! They have a NEST EXPERT who can install all NEST products- they do charge more.. but they have a better warranty.

All of the above mean you can remotely access your home. Did I mention most new cars have an APP to unlock and start. Did I also mention your APPLE watch can make calls and do all of these same APPS? (so no keys and no phone needed??) its a true dick tracy world!

**not a sales call , I'm an all APPLE and NEST user - life at a certain age can be confusing.. cut out the nonsense with keys, windows products with countless updates.** The road less traveled with high end products is also less hacked.