4 ms·

I really can't understand what some people are smoking out there. Is it's a push/lobby from companies? A need to have Orwellian control over the tenants? Misgui

I really can't understand what some people are smoking out there. Is it's a push/lobby from companies? A need to have Orwellian control over the tenants? Misguided 'fellowkids' approach to appear 'hip' and 'embrace tech'..? Or just plain silliness? Hanlon's razor is failing me.

noobiemcfoob 8y ago
Then you just don't understand the viewpoint of a landlord. If I have to coordinate service to fix the waterheater or something but I live 3 towns over, it's a lot easier to give a technician a temporary password to the property in a set time window. /To do this requires a good relationship with your tenants and technicians
- Faaak 8y ago
  You can also give the technician the property's renter's phone number and let themselves coordinate.
  - noobiemcfoob 8y ago
    You are greatly overestimating the amount of energy and time the average tenant will put into fixing anything in the property. I wish I could count on them to help in coordinating.
    - tpaschalis 8y ago
      Well, anecdote, but in most cases I know (South Europe) it's the tenants chasing behind the landlord to fix issues in their homes, and not vice versa :P Why wouldn't one want stuff on the property he's renting (and paying dearly for it) fixed?
      - noobiemcfoob 8y ago
        You would think a tenant would be eager to get something fixed. I had a tenant with a broken water heater who waited 3 weeks to tell me. In the winter! /shrug I try not to judge
mjcl 8y ago
It’s both liability and labor thing. When a tenant moves out, large apartment buildings change the lock. With an electronic lock any member of staff can ‘rekey’ the lock in a few seconds. For liability, the large companies use big key control systems to try and track which staff is checking out keys to what, but it’s still possible for staff to make unauthorized copies. With an electronic lock they get a nice report that shows all the times the lock was used and when the door was opened. And finally, many property managers are control-freaks and they love that tenants need to ask to make ‘copies’ of the electronic keys. Previously the only real option for key control was something like Medeco and most don’t want to pay for that.

noobiemcfoob 8y ago

Then you just don't understand the viewpoint of a landlord. If I have to coordinate service to fix the waterheater or something but I live 3 towns over, it's a lot easier to give a technician a temporary password to the property in a set time window. /To do this requires a good relationship with your tenants and technicians

Faaak 8y ago
You can also give the technician the property's renter's phone number and let themselves coordinate.
- noobiemcfoob 8y ago
  You are greatly overestimating the amount of energy and time the average tenant will put into fixing anything in the property. I wish I could count on them to help in coordinating.
  - tpaschalis 8y ago
    Well, anecdote, but in most cases I know (South Europe) it's the tenants chasing behind the landlord to fix issues in their homes, and not vice versa :P Why wouldn't one want stuff on the property he's renting (and paying dearly for it) fixed?
    - noobiemcfoob 8y ago
      You would think a tenant would be eager to get something fixed. I had a tenant with a broken water heater who waited 3 weeks to tell me. In the winter! /shrug I try not to judge

mjcl 8y ago

It’s both liability and labor thing. When a tenant moves out, large apartment buildings change the lock. With an electronic lock any member of staff can ‘rekey’ the lock in a few seconds. For liability, the large companies use big key control systems to try and track which staff is checking out keys to what, but it’s still possible for staff to make unauthorized copies. With an electronic lock they get a nice report that shows all the times the lock was used and when the door was opened. And finally, many property managers are control-freaks and they love that tenants need to ask to make ‘copies’ of the electronic keys. Previously the only real option for key control was something like Medeco and most don’t want to pay for that.