Sometimes, house sellers are a little leery of having a keysafe containing their house keys hanging on the exterior of their house. Usually, after we talk about how the keysafe works, most people are very comfortable having a keysafe. They’re really sort of cool little devices, and are convenient and secure.
Let’s discuss how they work first.
For most Tucson real estate, agents use GE’s Supra iBoxes, which are little blue boxes, about 7″ tall, and over 2 pounds heavy. Each has a latch to hang it on a doorknob. Each agent assigns a PIN number to the iBox, which must be entered to release the shackle holding the box to the doorknob. This means you either need that PIN number or a several hours with a hacksaw to get the thing off the door.
The keys are held in a little black cartridge that pops out of the base of the iBox. Agents use an eKey to open the iBox, and the two devices talk through an infrared port. Cool agents have their eKey integrated into their phone. Every agent’s eKey has a PIN number, private to that agent. The agent finds the iBox, enters their private PIN into their eKey, and points their eKey at the iBox. If the PIN matches the eKey, then the key cartridge can be released from the bottom of the iBox. Making the check between the private PIN and the eKey is designed to prevent any one else from using an agent’s eKey.
Here’s some nice benefits:
When anyone opens an iBox, a record is made on the iBox and on that person’s eKey. As a listing agent, I know who has accessed the house, even if that person didn’t bother to sign in. I discover who has accessed the house as soon as that person updates their eKey. This lets me collect feedback from those agents in a very timely manner. The cool agents have an automatic update feature, to update their eKey nightly, which provides the most timely and accurate information to a listing agent.
Access hours for the iBox can be restricted, so that the keysafe can only be opened between certain hours. We can stop anyone from opening the keysafe after, say 7pm, or before 8am. We can also set different time restrictions for weekdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Each iBox can be programmed with a “Call Before Show” code. This means that an agent has to talk to you to get that special code before the keysafe will open. If you need agents to make actual contact with you before showings so you can kennel the dog, then this might be a good option.
Where you should have your keysafe placed:
The front door is best, easiest, and most convenient for all involved. If your door handle won’t keep the iBox on securely, then we’ll place it off to the side on a gas meter or water spigot. Per our MLS regulations, keysafes should be accessible by people with disabilities. This means we aren’t going to place the iBox in the middle of a cactus field, or in any place that is difficult to get to. Hey, it’s tough walking through your gravel with heels on!
One more recommendation: place that puppy in a shady spot, if you can. The key cartridges can get extra super hot, sitting in the sun all day. Please don’t make me whip out my asbestos mitts to get the keys to your house!
