I've flipped a bunch of houses, and I've seen a lot of these setups fail. Those magnetic boxes are okay short-term, but yeah, humidity does cause rust and eventually weakens the magnets. Had one fall off at a property after about six months—luckily I found it before anyone else did. Fake rocks work fine if they're hidden well, but it's true, placement is key. Personally, I've had best luck with combination lockboxes mounted securely somewhere discreet around the house—no rust issues and no keys to lose track of. Neighbor thing works too until they're out of town or unreachable...been there, done that.
Combination lockboxes are solid, but have you thought about keyless entry systems? I've installed a few smart locks on remodels lately, and clients seem to love them. No keys, no rust, and you can even set temporary codes for guests or contractors. Plus, some models run on solar or rechargeable batteries, which is a nice eco-friendly bonus. Ever tried one of these, or do you prefer sticking with the mechanical options?
I actually just went through this decision myself. When we bought our fixer-upper last year, the front door had this ancient deadbolt that was always sticking. After getting locked out twice (once in the rain, of course), I finally decided to upgrade.
I was leaning towards a mechanical lockbox at first—seemed simple enough—but my brother convinced me to try a smart lock instead. Honestly, I was skeptical at first... worried about battery life and reliability. But it's been about 8 months now, and I haven't had any issues yet. Being able to set temporary codes for contractors was a lifesaver during renovations, and it felt safer than handing out keys.
That said, I still keep a spare key hidden somewhere just in case the tech ever fails me. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but it gives me peace of mind.
Smart locks are definitely a game changer, especially during renovations. I've installed them for a few clients, and most of them end up loving the convenience. But honestly, I'm still a bit old-school myself...there's something reassuring about a solid mechanical backup. Did you go for one that connects to your phone app, or just keypad-based? Curious if anyone's noticed a difference in reliability between those two.
I went with the keypad-based one myself, mostly because I didn't want to rely on my phone battery or Wi-Fi connection to get into my own house. Learned that lesson the hard way after locking myself out during demo day—phone died, charger was inside, and I ended up climbing through a half-open window like some kind of burglar. Not my finest moment...
Anyway, keypad's been pretty solid so far. Only issue I've had is when the batteries got low and it started acting glitchy, but that's an easy fix. My brother has the app-connected one, and he swears by it, but I've seen him standing outside his door refreshing the app more than once. Maybe it's just his Wi-Fi though, who knows. Either way, I'm with you—having a mechanical backup is reassuring.
