You’ve just collected the keys to your new Nottingham home.
It’s an exciting moment. The property is finally yours.
But you have no idea how many copies of those keys exist or who might have them. It’s enough to dampen your enthusiasm.
Estate agents. Previous owners and their family members. Tradespeople. Neighbours who held spare keys. The list goes on.
At Grays Locksmiths, we help new homeowners across Nottingham secure their properties every week. We’ve seen too many cases where people discovered security problems after moving in, when addressing them is much more disruptive and stressful.
These six security checks take minimal time but could save you from serious problems down the line. Better still, you can tackle most of them before you start moving your belongings in.
Change all the locks
This should be the first thing you do with your new property, ideally before you start bringing your furniture and possessions through the door.
The previous owners might be lovely, trustworthy people. They probably collected most of their keys back from family and friends.
But can you be certain they got every single one?
What about the spare they gave to their elderly mother three years ago? Or the one the dog walker had?
People genuinely forget about keys they’ve handed out over the years.
Then consider everyone else who might have had access. Estate agents often keep keys during the sales process. Tradespeople who worked on the property might have been given temporary access. If the property was previously rented, there could be keys floating around from multiple former tenants.
You can’t know for certain who has copies or where those keys might be. Changing the locks immediately removes this uncertainty and gives you complete control over who can access your home.
Test every window lock
Most people remember to check the door locks when viewing a property, but windows often get overlooked. This is a mistake, because windows are among the most common entry points for burglaries, particularly on ground floors and easily accessible upper floors.
So, you need to check every single window in your new home.
Do the locks engage properly?
Do the keys work?
Are there keys at all?
We regularly encounter properties where window keys have gone missing over the years, leaving perfectly good locks unusable. Sash windows in older Nottingham properties frequently have no locks whatsoever, or have locks that broke years ago and were never repaired. The previous owners might have lived with this problem for so long that they stopped noticing it.
Pay particular attention to ground-floor windows and any upper-floor windows accessible via drainpipes, flat roofs or extensions. These are the ones burglars target first.
The beauty of checking windows before you move in is that you can identify and fix problems without disrupting your daily life. You won’t need to move furniture around or work around your belongings.
Inspect the door frames and hinges
Even the best lock in the world is useless if it’s fitted to a rotten or damaged door frame. Burglars know this. When they can’t pick or break a lock, they often force the door by attacking the frame instead.
So, check your wooden door frames carefully, particularly at the bottom where they meet the ground or threshold. This area is prone to rot from water damage. Push firmly against the door to see if the frame flexes. It shouldn’t move much at all if it’s solid.
Look for signs of previous forced entry attempts. Sellers sometimes repair damage cosmetically without addressing the underlying structural problem. You might see fresh paint or filler covering splits in the wood around the lock area.
Check that all the hinge screws are present and secure. Many older doors have short screws that only grip the door frame, not the structural timber behind it. This makes them much easier to force. External hinges can be extra vulnerable because the hinge pins can potentially be removed.
Also, examine the strike plates where your lock bolts go into the frame. Basic strike plates are just thin pieces of metal screwed into the surface. Reinforced versions are much more substantial and spread the force of an attack across a wider area.
It’s better to identify these problems now, while the property is empty, than discover them after you’ve moved in.
Check your garage and shed security
Outbuildings might seem less important than your main house, but they deserve serious attention. Garages and sheds typically contain expensive items like tools, bicycles, lawnmowers and garden equipment. More worryingly, they also often contain items that could help burglars access your main property, like ladders, crowbars and other tools.
Have a proper look at what security exists on these buildings. Many sheds have nothing more than a flimsy padlock attached to an equally flimsy hasp. Some have no lock at all. Garage doors, particularly older up-and-over types, often have surprisingly weak locking mechanisms that can be defeated in seconds.
Integral garages that connect directly to your house are particularly vulnerable. If someone can get into your garage easily, they often have more time and privacy to work on breaking through the door into your home.
Don’t forget to check windows on outbuildings, too. We’ve seen plenty of garden buildings with substantial locks on the doors, but completely unsecured windows around the back.
Look at your exterior lighting
Good exterior lighting serves multiple purposes. It helps you see what you’re doing when arriving home after dark. It makes your property look occupied. Most importantly, it deters opportunistic burglars who prefer to work in darkness.
Walk around your new property in the evening before you move in.
Where are the dark areas?
Are there spots around the building where someone could hide or work unseen?
The front door area needs lighting for both security and convenience, but don’t neglect the back doors and side access points.
Check whether existing exterior lights actually work. Broken lights might indicate electrical problems that need addressing. See if any lights operate on motion sensors or if they’re all manual switches. Motion-activated lights can surprise potential intruders and alert you to movement around your property, so they’re worth investing in.
Look at the positioning of existing lights. Are they lighting the right areas, or are they more decorative than functional? Can they be easily reached and unscrewed by someone standing on the ground? Security lighting needs to be positioned high enough to prevent tampering.
Get a professional security assessment
You’re looking at your new property with fresh eyes right now.
Once you’ve lived there for a few months, you’ll stop noticing potential security issues because they’ll just become part of your normal environment.
This makes the period before you move in the perfect time for a professional security assessment, so why not give us a call? We can spot vulnerabilities that you might miss.
Our experience with hundreds of Nottingham properties means we know which features create security risks and which are perfectly adequate. We look at everything, from locks, frames and windows to access points, visibility from the street and how all these elements work together.
We’ll let you know which issues need addressing immediately, before you move your belongings in, and which can wait until your budget allows.
A small investment in essential security improvements can provide immediate peace of mind. You can start your new chapter knowing your home is properly secured and your family is protected.
So, if you’re ready to secure your new home properly, call us on 0115 942 2315. We’ll help you identify what needs attention and create a sensible plan for protecting your new property from day one.