Feel Secure with Home Shoppe Hawaii Oahu Property ManagementToday, I received a call from the Honolulu police. They contacted me after they Googled a particular Kailua rental property. When they used that address, my name popped up as an Oahu real estate broker who could help with the home. I get calls like this a lot, because I subscribe to a buyer lead referral service, but usually not from the police.
The Honolulu police were calling because the fire alarm on this particular Kailua home was going off. It appeared to be vacant and there was an old-style lock box on the property. Seemed to the officer like a Kailua rental property that wasn’t rented at the moment and perhaps, there was a property manager. So he found me online, though this was not a Home Shoppe Hawaii managed or listed Kailua property. I was able to look up the owner name in the tax records but I could not help beyond that.
Upon reflection on this incident, I noted that the Kailua property manager that was managing this Kailua investment property made two mistakes that could have jeapordized the owner’s or the tenants’ property. Certainly, there were some things this Kailua property manager could have done to help the police locate the property manager and/or owners, in case of an emergency.
First, the lockbox on this Kailua home was a standard lock box. Home Shoppe Hawaii only uses electronic lockboxes on its Oahu real estate listings and on the Oahu investment properties we manage, and we NEVER use the old-fashioned, manual kind. Why is this?
1. Old school lockboxes are not secure. From experience in showing listed property, I know that most Oahu real estate agents have used the same manual box for the past 10 years and never changed the code. There are about 10 very common codes that Oahu real estate agents use on these lockboxes. Or the code is the agents’ initials. Or their kids’ birth year, usually in the 70’s for women in their 60’s, etc. It would be pretty easy to figure out and get the key to your property, when these boxes are used….Especially on listed homes where the agent’s name is on a sign outside. And you can repeatedly enter the wrong code without getting “locked out” on these type of boxes. And there is never any record by whom and when the code is used.
In contrast, electronic lockboxes record every time the box is opened, you know who has been given that unique code, and you can generate new random, mulitple-digit (8 usually) daily codes for each use. Someone cannot get back into the property using the same code on another day, and if they come back in the same day, you have a record of it. They are not foolproof, but they are 1000% more secure than the old lockboxes.
2. In addition, old school lockboxes typically cannot be identified with any particular owner. Electronic lockboxes used by Home Shoppe Hawaii have a serial number and a phone number for the service provider on the box. A police officer or anyone else who needed to find the Oahu property manager associated with a property, or who needed entry in an emergency situation would more likely be able to contact the property manager and/or owner of the box (and, if warranted, be granted permission for entry with a quickly generated access code), to let someone know there was a problem, or to get information to contact the owner. This could be important if a home was damaged in a storm or experienced some other problem when the home was vacant or temporarily unoccupied by a tenant.
Second, Home Shoppe Hawaii (with owner permission) places a prominent, removable decal in the inside front window (or other appropriate location) of each property that uses Home Shoppe Hawaii Oahu property management services. These are similar to the ones you see for an alarm service. This enables neighbors or visitors to know who is managing the investment property for the owner, and it includes a contact phone number. This can be important if tenants are engaging in an unusual, disruptive, or illegal activity that is causing concern to neighbors or passers by, and which may cause concern to an owner or property manager. It can also be important if there is damage to a home or if there is some other emergency that warrants contacting the property manager and/or owner immediately.
Using informational decals and electronic lockboxes are only two ways that Home Shoppe Hawaii helps keep your Oahu investment property secure. (This also keeps your listed Oahu real estate for sale more secure.) We are one of the very few Oahu real estate brokerages and Oahu property management companies that uses ONLY electronic lockboxes on its managed properties and listings, and the only Oahu property managers, that we know of, who use Oahu property management decals on their properties.
For more information on Oahu Property Management Services by Home Shoppe Hawaii please click Property Management or contact us directly.