? give a key to a neighbor I don't know well

[badatmath]

I just had a little emergency here about a week ago and kind of scared the neighbors when they saw the ambulance. So now they are thinking we should exchange keys. I am not in the slightest worried they would steal anything but I do not know them well and I know the one is very nosy. Ideas I am not thinking of to manage? Hiding a key outside seems very insecure and IDK about those electronic locks would seem very hackable. Family is in another state so not useful for this purpose.

 

[COcheesehead]

What a great way to bond with your neighbors. Embrace it.

 

[RobbieB]

Not enough information. I'm not giving anyone my key with this info.

 

[skyking1]

them having a key will not make you safer, but establishing a routine where you talk to someone every day who can then summon help for you might do so.
I'm with Robbie the info is not enough.

 

[razztazz]

Why do you need them to have the key? You have fish/turtles/ a canary to feed?
If not there's no real reason to give them one. If you are in the hospital with something will you feel more relaxed or more nervous knowing somebody else can get into your house? In most cases you can squirrel away a key outdoors in one of those fake rocks (I have one. Even I can't find it easily sometimes) or something similar.

If you are laid up for a few days / a week and really need something from inside, at that time you can call them and ask them to come to the hospital to get your key OR clue them in to the hidden key and just fetch what you need.

PS: I went thru this when I had the heart attack a couple years ago. There was zero need for any key swapping and I am otherwise a total lone wolf. However, I have one of my neighbor's keys because of her sometimes being late getting home and her dogs needing let out/fed. We know each other pretty well though.

 

[Car-Guy]

No way Jose!


(And I would not accept my neighbors key either, even if they asked. And I know them pretty well)

 

[Aerides]

What benefit would it have for you?

 

[COcheesehead]

Here’s a chance to create a bond and yet you all would reject it. You can be part of the solution or part of the problem.

 

[RobbieB]

That's just it.

What's the problem? Then we can work on the solution.

 

[W2R]

I'm with Robbie the info is not enough.

+1

Now, if you live in Mayberry RFD, the answer might be different. But me, I live in New Orleans.

 

[COcheesehead]

That's just it.

What's the problem? Then we can work on the solution.

I passed keys in every neighborhood I have ever lived in. We locked ourselves out once. Glad to have a neighbor with a key. We’ve had neighbors call us with packages that needed to put inside, glad to help.

We have block parties, invite neighbors over.

 

[badatmath]

Well I'm not entirely sure of the idea behind it kind of caught me off guard but I do plan to get another pet one day (hopefully fairly soon). But I am not so sickly I plan to go to the hospital every day (this was my first time ever).

I think part of her freakout is we found another neighbor dead about a year ago (we knew how to get in and called police and all). But there is a little more sense of panic since that happened. And I do want to be a good neighbor and really there is nothing to steal but a relative stranger having access to my house is still unnerving. So then I thought well maybe hide a key somewhere then i could call anyone for help in a pinch. But then what help do I need? Do I need any?

 

[skyking1]

Wow, I wouldn’t want any of you as neighbors. Here’s a chance to create a bond and yet you all would reject it. You can be part of the solution or part of the problem.

Cheesehead I am with you in spirit. My current 3 neighbors could have a key, I have known them 25 plus years each. There is no need. I do hide a key in case we cannot get home to care for our dogs, in an emergency. It has never come up.
What the original poster put up was a little too thin.
If they shared coffee regularly or something like that, then there is a proper interaction that could create that bond.

 

[COcheesehead]

Well I'm not entirely sure of the idea behind it kind of caught me off guard but I do plan to get another pet one day (hopefully fairly soon). But I am not so sickly I plan to go to the hospital every day (this was my first time ever).

I think part of her freakout is we found another neighbor dead about a year ago (we knew how to get in and called police and all). But there is a little more sense of panic since that happened. And I do want to be a good neighbor and really there is nothing to steal but a relative stranger having access to my house is still unnerving.

I think your comment about a stranger being a neighbor is telling. You can use this as an opportunity to not have neighbors as strangers.

 

[razztazz]

Wow, I wouldn’t want any of you as neighbors. Here’s a chance to create a bond and yet you all would reject it. You can be part of the solution or part of the problem.

Here's a perspective we discussed when I exchanged keys with my neighbor. We both mentioned that growing up all the neighbors had somebody's key because, hey, we look after each other! But that social custom fell by the wayside probably somewhere in the '70's (I am Big City. Small Towners and rural types maybe later.)


Why? Because if anything ever happens (you lose something or it gets stolen) first thing Joe Friday asks is "Anybody else got a key"? Now your well-meaning neighbor is a suspect. OR you say "No, nobody." Because you forgot or "The Neighbor" doesn't count as "anybody else." They are friends. Then the neighbor tells Joe Friday they have a key 'cause ya don't want to lie to the police. So, now YOU'RE a suspect. Insurance fraud or some such. Sounds like a B movie but this is how life works nowadays. I would not ask my neighbor to hold my key. They are the ones accepting a lot of potential downside if anything happens and vice versa


I know I just said my neighbor and I share keys but I am 65 w/ a bad heart and she is 72. Gonna be hard to prove we've been up to no good, key or no key. 10-20-30 years ago? HAH! No chance.

 

[RunningBum]

I have a ring doorbell, so I know whenever someone comes to my door. I also have the ring sign on a porch post so people know it. I'll know if even someone with a key shows up on my porch. I'm not worried about anyone I gave a key to, but this might be of comfort to you for this situation.

 

[COcheesehead]

I have security cameras on/in my house. If my neighbor with a key breaks in, I will know. I also know when the FedEx, UPS or a neighbor drops something on the porch.

 

[badatmath]

Good points I don't have any cameras.

Neighbors have lived there maybe 2 years and we don't "hang out" as they are a good 20 years younger.

Maybe hiding a key is the way to go if i get a pet at least.

 

[zinger1457]

Seems like an electronic door lock or dead bolt would solve some of your issues, I have one (Yale) on my front door. Can remotely open/lock the door from your phone, can program codes that only work during specific days/hours, can program codes that are temporary and expire on a certain date/time. Having a Ring type video doorbell in combination with the lock is also a good idea.

 

[Music Lover]

Seems like an electronic door lock or dead bolt would solve some of your issues, I have one (Yale) on my front door. Can remotely open/lock the door from your phone, can program codes that only work during specific days/hours, can program codes that are temporary and expire on a certain date/time. Having a Ring type video doorbell in combination with the lock is also a good idea.

I was about to suggest that, you beat me to it. It's a pretty good solution for a neighbor you don't know well, or to let a contractor in if you can't be there. Some/most of them will let you know when they entered and how long they were in your house.

 

[badatmath]

I think the idea of them losing the key bothers me a bit and mostly just snooping. IDK what they are going to find - socks in the sock drawer? but you know. But I w*rk in IT, I knew technology fails.

 

[Gumby]

My neighbors have our key and we have theirs. We trust each other and it is useful when each of us is out of town. If you live in a place where you can't trust your neighbors, maybe you should consider moving.

 

[Spock]

I bought a higher end ($40?) mechanical contractor lockbox/key holder.
The houses here are made of stucco over a layer of foam board. They could break into the house through the wall faster than they could open the key safe by brute force.
There was a lady here that was locked out and called a locksmith. She had a higher end lock. The locksmith told her it would be faster and cheaper for him to punch a hole in the wall next to the door and repair the hole than it would be for him to destroy the door getting it open and then fix the door.

 

[easysurfer]

After the condo I'm at had a situation where a resident passed away but there wasn't access to his unit (the police found him there), the condo board made up a rule that someone needs an emergency entry. A neighbor or a board member. Not keen on the idea (like the OP, they I don't believe they'd be stealing but don't like the idea of turning over a key. What is this? An apartment? No, it's a condo). My unit is the one place where I have privacy away from all the rules.

I ended up making a compromise. I didn't turn over my key buy have one of those padlock lock boxes and I provided the combination to the building management company. Thus, if cops come knocking thinking I've passed away or something, the building has access. Other than that, my unit is my unit for my eyes only .

 

[Music Lover]

I bought a higher end ($40?) mechanical contractor lockbox/key holder.
The houses here are made of stucco over a layer of foam board. They could break into the house through the wall faster than they could open the key safe by brute force.
There was a lady here that was locked out and called a locksmith. She had a higher end lock. The locksmith told her it would be faster and cheaper for him to punch a hole in the wall next to the door and repair the hole than it would be for him to destroy the door getting it open and then fix the door.

While that is true, it's near impossible to repair stucco that's years/decades old without it looking like a patch job.

One of my friends had a house that was (from the outside) vinyl siding, foamboard, insulation, drywall. Basically, any well placed kick that didn't hit a stud would go right through it.