Host, Christine Karpinski: Today's question comes from Jeff in Denver, Colorado. He asks:

Q: "What is the standard way to forward and return keys to renters?"

A: Well, Jeff, I think the most common way that vacation homeowners gets keys to renters is actually a lockbox that's made by GE. It's called the Supra, S‑U‑P‑R‑A. You can go to places like Home Depot or Lowe's or your ACE Hardware, even locksmiths will have them. They range about $30‑35, depending on where you are. Locksmiths, of course, charge a little bit more, but they're very easy. You can get the kind that you can screw right onto your home, whether it be your door jamb or somewhere outside the home. Or you can get the kind that hang right from the doorknob. If you go to the Owner Community we do actually have a picture of it. If you search by GE Supra you should be able to find it also on the Internet pretty easily.

The other thing that you can do is you can buy a programmable lock that goes right on your door. This is actually what I use in a lot of my properties. What I do is that I code it to each vacation renter's ZIP code, their home ZIP code. Most often, each renter has a unique ZIP code, so the code is being changed each time. I just email my housekeeping staff the next renter's ZIP code and the renters don't have a hard time remembering their code. They don't have to worry about leaving home without it. They don't have to worry about losing keys. Those locks are about $150. Again, they're pretty easy to install, just with a few screws. You don't have to drill any new holes. It fits right in the existing door lock.

And the other thing that you can do is you can buy a programmable‑from‑home lock system. Now, those I would be just cautious with, they tend to be sold by some very high pressure sales people. And their cost is pretty high and they also have an ongoing cost associated with them. They have a monthly fee, sometimes ranging anywhere from $5‑25 a month.

So, my first two recommendations are obviously the most cost effective. If you have a really difficult time and want to have Web access, then you can use one of those other locks, the Web access locks, but they are rather costly. And the other caution with those Web access locks is, you have to be careful, a lot of them are not deadbolts, and they're only regular locks. Some states actually require that you have deadbolts on your doors.

Good luck. Let me know how you make out.

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