The Lock box is easily overlooked and taken for granted in the real estate transaction by people selling their home.  They see the lock box on the side of the house and know that’s how showing agents let buyers into the home.  But is that all it does?

Not hardly.  A lock box provides a tremendous amount of information to the savvy listing agent, and along with added security for the seller.

For ARMLS subscribers in Maricopa and Pinal County, we use the iBox from GE/Supra.  For sellers, this lock box keeps track of every agent that accesses the lock box, and reports that back to the agent.  Should something be found amiss after a showing, the listing agent can access the records for the lock box, to find out who was in the home.  Showing agents know this, of course, which is why this sort of problem is rare.  Who would steal something from a house, if they knew they were leaving their name, phone number, and email address when they did it?

You may wonder what might happen if the showing agent were to lose their lock box key?  Could someone steal that key and then gain access to every lock box in town? The short answer is no.  Usage of the lock box key requires the input of a 4 digit pin code to access the keys inside.  Every agent selects his/her own pin code.  By rule, agents are not allowed to disclose the code to anyone else, and agents are not allowed to let another agent use their key.  So just stealing a lock box key wouldn’t be enough, you’d also have to have the pin code.  As further protection, the key must also be updated daily via either the phone or the internet though the Supra system.  If a key is reported lost or stolen, that key will be invalidated and future updates will be impossible, effectively disabling the key.

The lock box itself is a fairly solid and secure box.  Reports of boxes being broken into are rare, but they do happen.  The system is not foolproof, but it is very, very good.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, we’ll talk about the marketing advantages of having a lock box and why nearly ever seller should consent to allowing a lock box.

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