The Mississauga Real Estate Board recently struck a deal with SentriLock for electronic lock boxes.
Nelson Goulart, broker of record and owner of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Signature Service says, “We have now launched the system to the public on our listings and it is working very well. We’re super proud to be the first office in Mississauga to have gone live with the system.”
This is an important deal, Goulart says, because the industry is changing and there is a growing concern about traditional lock boxes and their low levels of security. YouTube videos show how anyone can disarm a traditional lock box.
Electronic lock boxes afford a competitive advantage for those using them and solve many logistical issues, such as tracking who is and is not entering a home. In the past, many people could claim that they’d never entered a property when this was not the case. The Sentrilock lock box registers an entrant as soon as someone accesses the home. That gives brokers and sales reps control, which means more safety for the clients.
Mississauga board members must implement the electronic lock box system themselves – it is not a board-wide requirement. “They have to believe and take the initiative,” Goulart says. He says there is little reason not to because it is simple to install, easy to maintain and the board offers appropriate training about how to use it in the most efficient way possible.
“Sentrilock was fantastic to work with,” Goulart says. “When we brought the proposal to the board, we had the choice of unilaterally using it for our own office, but we believed in its conveniences so much that we wanted to share the concept more broadly with other brokerages and professionals.”
He says security should be a priority for forward-thinking brokers. “Otherwise,” he says, “the concern is that something tragic could happen and everyone will react when it’s too late.”
While no lock is indestructible, the SentriLock lock box’s construction is proven and it cannot be picked easily. “The only way to get around it,” Goulart says, “is to destroy it. And it would take a lot to destroy these lock boxes.”
The Calgary board has made a similar deal with Sentrilock.
Goulart advises that Sentrilock is owned by the National Association of Realtors, who make good partners in advancing the cause for better security.
Penn Javdan is a contributing writer for REM.
