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, including evenings, weekends and holidays

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.

Rekey vs. Replace After Buying a House: FAQs

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.