How to Rekey Your Home After Moving — Fort Collins 2026 Guide

When you close on a house in Fort Collins, Loveland, or Windsor, you honestly don't know who has a copy of the old key — the previous owners, their cleaner, their landscaper, HVAC technicians, the real estate agent's lockbox, the previous owner's adult children, the dog walker, the neighbor they gave a "just in case" key to. Rekeying within the first week of moving in makes every one of those old keys instantly useless — for roughly the cost of a single dinner out.

Rekey vs replace — which do you actually need?

Rekey means a locksmith removes the lock cylinder, changes the internal pins, and issues new keys. Your existing locks keep working — just with new keys. Cost: $20–$45 per lock. Time: 5–10 minutes per lock. This makes sense when your existing locks are healthy (good brand, not damaged, less than 15 years old).

Replace means swapping the entire lock assembly for a new one. Cost: $60–$180 per lock supplied + installed. Makes sense when: (1) current locks are Grade 3 builder hardware that should be upgraded anyway, (2) locks show visible wear or rust, (3) you're upgrading to keypad/smart locks, or (4) previous owner left only one or two working keys (better to just get new locks than source old-brand cylinders).

Which locks to rekey — don't skip any

• Every exterior deadbolt (front, back, side, garage entry door from house, walk-out basement)
• Knob locks on exterior doors (if they're used — many homes have both a knob lock and a deadbolt on the same door)
• Detached garage doors with keyed pedestrian doors
• Storage shed locks that share a key with the house
• Mailbox lock (cluster mailboxes at most newer Fort Collins subdivisions have keys)
• Gate locks on fenced yards (common in Old Town and the Harmony Corridor)
• Interior locks that protect anything valuable — typically a home office or gun safe

Always ask for "keyed alike"

Ask the locksmith to rekey everything to a single new key — this is called keyed alike. One key opens every door in your home. It's a massive quality-of-life upgrade and doesn't cost more — the locksmith is already there. The alternative is juggling 4 different keys on your keyring forever.

Typical Fort Collins rekey pricing (2026)

• Service call (base trip fee): $45–$65
• Per cylinder rekey: $20–$45 depending on lock brand/complexity
• Typical 4-door home, keyed alike: $165–$245 total, 30–45 minutes on-site
• 6-door estate with detached garage + sheds: $225–$345
• Same-day service (within 24 hours of call): no surcharge during business hours; +$30–$50 after 8pm

While the locksmith is already at your house

For almost no additional labor cost, have them address the two biggest security weaknesses in most Fort Collins production homes:

• 3-inch strike plate screws. Builder-grade strike plates are installed with 3/4-inch screws that only bite into the door trim. Replacing them with 3-inch screws that reach the wall stud makes your door 2–3x more kick-resistant. Hardware cost: $5 per door.
• Front-door Grade 1 deadbolt upgrade. If your deadbolt is builder-grade Grade 3 (Kwikset Titan, Schlage B50 basic, etc.), upgrading to Grade 1 costs $120–$220 per door while the locksmith is already there — less than if you call them back separately.

When to rekey vs replace: a decision matrix for Fort Collins homes

• Locks 1–10 years old, good brand (Schlage B60+, Kwikset SmartKey, Medeco): rekey
• Locks 10–20 years old, good brand, no visible issues: rekey, but budget to replace within 5 years
• Locks 20+ years old OR builder-grade (Grade 3): replace with Grade 1 now
• Previous owner left only 1 key: rekey (cheap, makes their missing keys useless)
• Previous owner left 0 keys: replace (rekeying requires a working key to retrieve the cylinder without destruction; without one, you're paying for lock removal anyway)
• You want smart lock or keypad: replace on the doors you want upgraded; rekey the rest

When to schedule — move-in week, not later

The most common mistake is waiting. "We'll get to it" turns into 6 months, and during those 6 months every old key-holder still has access. Schedule the rekey for the day you get the keys at closing — before you even unpack. The locksmith can come while the moving truck is being unloaded.

Service areas

Same-day rekey service across Fort Collins (all ZIPs 80521–80528), Loveland (80537, 80538), Windsor (80550), Timnath (80547), Wellington (80549), Severance, Johnstown, Milliken, Berthoud, Greeley, and Longmont. Call (970) 397-2002 for a firm phone quote. Most rekey jobs completed in a single 30–60 minute appointment.