Locksmithing?

We just bought an FHA foreclosure. Locks in the house are all FHA pattern, of which they only have three (IIRC). Can I re-key the lock cylinders without having to replace every doorknob and deadbolt in the house?

Or should I just ask if anybody's got a relative/friend in NW Atlanta Metro who's a locksmith..

Ask HERE

I repinned a barrel lock for my Harley, after reading about how to do it on this helpful forum.

Speaking of Atlanta, I just ate at Rathbun's. Damn that is awesome steak!

What the heck is an FHA lock pattern? I've bought lots of FHA foreclosures and never heard of that.

It depends on the locks. What we always did was leave the deadbolts, just use the FHA key for those, and change the doorknobs. Of course that's on rent houses. Are you planning on living there yourself? or is it an investment?

What's an FHA foreclosure?

Are we talking cheap digs here?

Why does GRM always present ways to spend money?

Taiden wrote: Why does GRM always present ways to spend money?

I'm convinced it's because everyone here secretly hates everyone else.

Taiden wrote: What's an FHA foreclosure? Are we talking cheap digs here? Why does GRM always present ways to spend money?

Yes. Cheap digs. But you can't qualify until you get your credit rating going.

Look at those 50 houses while you are building your credit. You'll learn.

Yes, we hate you.

What is a FHA foreclosure?

Federal Housing Administration.

The FHA guarantees loans to banks. So, when you can't pay your mortgage, the government takes my tax dollars and pays the bank for their failed loan to you.

You loose your house, and it is sold usually under market value as an "FHA foreclosure".

Usually handled by local Realtors.

Huh. I'm closing on mine tomorrow morning and I had to supply a receipt showing that the locks have been changed. As in, a shop had to replace or rekey the locks. That was this morning's project; replacing the locks and getting the paperwork.

If you are interested in a Fannie Mae foreclosure, go to homepath.com and search by zip for foreclosures in your area. trulia.com has them too but you have to wade through all kinds of garbage to find what you want.

SVreX wrote: Federal Housing Administration. The FHA guarantees loans to banks. So, when you can't pay your mortgage, the government takes my tax dollars and pays the bank for their failed loan to you. You loose your house, and it is sold usually under market value as an "FHA foreclosure". Usually handled by local Realtors.

What is the difference between a regular foreclosure? Just the government involvement?

Yes.

Foreclosure is foreclosure. FHA guarantees loans, so they buy out the bank.

It's a difference to the bank (they don't have there on skin in the game).

It's also a difference in the rules for resale. FHA has a lot of guidelines for selling their foreclosures. Local banks do not (and sometimes put them back in there own portfolios instead of selling).

It's not hard to buy FHA forclosures.

I've no idea what an FHA lock pattern is, but yes locks can be rekeyed. Either replacing the cylinder, or simply repinning it.

Is it cheaper than replacing the locks yourself? Probably not. Particularly if you're paying a locksmith to come out and do it all on site. If you bring the cylinders it, maybe.

I believe we bought an FHA repo. Getting the house was easy. Getting the loan was a bitch because it was below 100k and wasn't our primary residence. If you think the mortgae industry was crap before, wait till you see what you ahve to go through now to get a loan. We are being made to suffer because of the mortgage industry did.

BTW, we has several diffnerent locks in the hsoue,. We pulled them all out and went with the re-keyable locks. That cost a few bucks.

SVreX wrote: It's a difference to the bank (they don't have there on skin in the game).

I wish that were true, but it isn't. HUD insurance reduces the lender's exposure but doesn't eliminate it.

spitfirebill wrote: If you think the mortgae industry was crap before, wait till you see what you ahve to go through now to get a loan.

True. Those who played by the rules (both consumers and lenders) are now paying for the sins of those who didn't.

On topic: I've owned three houses in my lifetime, and each time the first thing I did was change the locks. With the landlord's permission, I also changed the locks at my expense, on most of the rentals I've lived in. Who wants to take the chance that some stranger has keys to your house?

Thanks, everyone. I see the FHA's already been explained..the thing with the keys is that since they have so many properties (and so many people that need to get into them), they only have three different locksets that they use overandoverandoverandover.

No banks involved. I was laid off, so I raided my 401k and paid cash. Paid roughly half of what it was worth before the crash. Only problem going FHA is that a lot of their properties have been sitting empty a long time. We got lucky, this place had only been empty about 18mos. All we had to do was re-plumb the hot water heater, and fit a new thermostat for the furnace to get it livable. It's got some other little problems (some siding damage, mold to kill, and better repairs on the door where the copper thieves broke in), but all-in-all, I think I got a screaming deal.

It even has its own gene-splicing tank! Wonder how much work it'll be to turn it back into a swimming pool..

$7 to re key at my local hardware. I took the lockset in, 1 hour later I picked it up. That price included 1 key.

The house looks new enough, so it should have standard locks. If you're handy you can pop the lock cylinders out and take them down to the local hardware/locksmith to get them all re-keyed (get them matched while you're at it).

If you've never worked with a lock before it may just be easier to call a locksmith out.

bludroptop wrote:

SVreX wrote: It's a difference to the bank (they don't have there on skin in the game).

I wish that were true, but it isn't. HUD insurance reduces the lender's exposure but doesn't eliminate it.

I stand corrected. I should have said LESS skin in the game. It's still a difference to the bank.

Guess I should have also spelled "their" correctly.

What brand of locks are installed in the house? It's not worth having a Kwikset or Schlage lock rekeyed, unless it's a high end lock set. Even at that point, I wouldn't rekey a Kwikset. I learned how to pick locks on them because they're just about the easiest to pick. Schlage is easy to bump, and anyone with 30 minutes can make a bump key that will open a lock in a few seconds.

Are you simply looking to replace the locks to meet obligations, or do you want to add better security while you're at it?

Derick Freese wrote: What brand of locks are installed in the house? It's not worth having a Kwikset or Schlage lock rekeyed, unless it's a high end lock set. Even at that point, I wouldn't rekey a Kwikset. I learned how to pick locks on them because they're just about the easiest to pick. Schlage is easy to bump, and anyone with 30 minutes can make a bump key that will open a lock in a few seconds. Are you simply looking to replace the locks to meet obligations, or do you want to add better security while you're at it?

Most home burglaries don't even go through the doors/locks. There are so many security gaps on most houses that the locks are not the weakpoint, and are really just there to keep honest people honest. The HomeDepot junk is good enough (although I'll agree it's junk).

While that's true, if I'm spending money on new lock sets, I'm personally going to buy something of better quality than I can get at Lowe's/Home Depot.

In the end, it's easier and safer to go to a house that has a door unlocked or an open window than to hack a lock or break a window.

Derick Freese wrote: While that's true, if I'm spending money on new lock sets, I'm personally going to buy something of better quality than I can get at Lowe's/Home Depot. In the end, it's easier and safer to go to a house that has a door unlocked or an open window than to hack a lock or break a window.

I have no idea what brand the knobs & deadbolts are. The loose-fitting pieces on all of them lead me to think that none of them are high-end stuff from any manufacturer.

I suppose I should have mentioned that this is no "investment opportunity"..we're not flipping it when (IMO, if) the market gets better. This is where we live, better security is the only thing we're looking for.

I think you're right about the security gaps, but on a HUD home, it's hard to tell. There's obvious evidence of several attempted forced entries (and from what I can tell, at least two successful ones)..but I'll bet they were all while the place was unoccupied. I'm hoping that just seeing the lights on again runs off most of the scavengers.