Lower Merion Homes for Sale and Accesss for Philadelphia Realtors

Push Button Combo Lock Box

When you put your home up for sale, you have a host of options regarding how buyers and real estate agents will gain access to view the interior. Some homeowners are not
aware of the myriad of options available. Many listing agents won't explain all of the options because, frankly, some of the methods are just inconvenient and costly from the agent's perspective. Other  methods may just be downright impractical and impede a sale. But each method of providing access to your home's interior has a host of positive and negative qualities depending on your perspective, goals and level of comfort.

Lower Merion & Philadelphia-area real estate agents Ted and Heather Gross with Prudential, are happy to discuss and explore in further detail, which of the primary Lockbox options described below would be the best fit for you. In addition, we can discuss the various other non-Lockbox  methods of allowing agents and buyers access to your home, each with their upsides and downsides depending on your needs. Please dont hesitate to contact us. Our aim - in addition to selling homes - is to educate and make this process as transparent and empowering to the consumer as is possible.

As indicated, this post examines the utility of  LockBoxes, be they Combination (Combo) or Electronic. In our experience, LockBoxes are (by far) the most frequently employed and preferred methods for allowing access to your home-for-sale.

Iconic Dial Combination Box

* Combination LockBoxes are by far the most popular method for giving buyers and their agents access to the keys to your home. A small box is locked to an exterior door or railing and buyers' agents are provided the private code when they request a showing appointment.


(Upside+)  A universally easy to operate Combo LockBox ensures your home gets the greatest number of showings. Agents and buyers need no special equipment - other than a telephone -to call up and obtain the private code for the Combo LockBox containing the keys. Also, busy Buyers/Realtors' appointment schedules are easy to accomodate since the LockBox requires no special equipment and nobody must be home to allow entry.

In this competitive sellers market, volume of showings and Quality of Showings can be a boon to selling at a good price. The Quality of a Showing is greatly enhanced when buyers andagents can view your home when they find it most convenient and welcoming. More importantly, homeowners NOT being present to hand over keys, open the doors, overhear comments allows buyers to feel most relaxed and practically project themselves into the living space. In this environment, a Buyer cB truly focus on the possibility of seeing the home as becoming their home and not yours. That's the end goal, right?


(Downside-) Beyond the obvious fact of allowing strangers and relative strangers access to your home and personal property, once the code to a Combination LockBox is known, the keys to your door are there for the taking by anyone who has the code. What I find most disturbing is that some Listing Agencies use the same code for most - if not every - Lockbox they affix. This means nearly everytime a house has a yard sign emblazoned with For Sale bt "Brokerage Alpha" or "Brokerage Beta," any Agent who has ever done business with these firms has a pretty good idea of the Lockbox code and could unethically gain access at anytime, without registering an appointment.

Electronic Lock Boxes

Key-pad transponder and Electronic blue Lock Box.

(Upside +)  A primary and sometimes preferred alternative to the Combo LockBox is an Electronic LockBox, which is a sophisticated, 21st century device that exponentially raises the homeowners level of security by digitally recording and reporting which registered unlocking device is used, as well as they time and date it is employed to obtain keys from the Electronic Lockbox. The upgrade in security to the Seller is tremendous, as agents must not only pre-register, but they also have to invest a significant annual fee to obtain and keep active the transponder unit required to access keys from an electronice lockbox.

(Downside -) Electronic lockboxes are not very widely used outside the luxury home community, if at all. Since many real estate agents do not wish to subscribe to or incur the cost of this relatively uncommon but supremely secure electronic lockbox service, there is a distinct probability that many qualified Buyers' agents will ignore your listing and you may miss out on lots of quality showings. Bottom line, your home may take longer to sell and eventually attract a lower offer price due to time on market and less demand. This factor can and should  be a huge a consideration in the decision regarding selection of Lockbox system.
For the record, agents servicing R5Realty.com do recognize the professional importance of subscribing to and maintaining an Electronic Lockbox subscription so that our buyers can view every home regardless of analog or digital technology.

Ted's R5Realty.com  Analysis:

Most high-quality real estate brokerages - such as R5Realty.com's affiliation with locally and nationally recognized industry leading firm  Prudential Fox & Roach - will service showing requests via extremely professional appointment call centers, which require Real Estate Agents to verify their credentials and identity when attempting to schedule and appointment and obtain a Combination LockBox code. This screening can't ensure 100% protection from unwelcome or unauthorized access to your home, but it does ensure registration of who gets access to codes and when the access is obtained.  

Eshowings is an Extremely Efficient and Professinal

Agents adore the simplicity of  Combo Lockboxes and the ease of unfettered quality showings they foster. For this reason, I think  a Combo Lockbox gives sellers the best chance of selling in the shortest amount of time, for the highest price. While there is an element of vulnerablility associated with Combo Lockboxes, the consequences of unethical behavior or misuse of access to a lockbox can be devestating and destroy an agent's reputation and livelihood.

A vast majority of Sellers permit their listing Agent to employ the Combo Lockbox/call-center method of providing appointment-based access to help sell your home. I have encountered almost no reports of malfeasance regarding this method, but to not acknowledge some of the unlikely pitfalls described runs counter to R5Realty.com's goal of making the process of selling and buying residential real estate as transparent user-friendly as is possible. Finally, there are some strategies, albeit, a bit time-consuming that can enhance the security of Combo Lockboxes but they require thinking a bit outside the box (so to speak)!