As some of you may already know, my son and I are taking the train to Connecticut to visit family in two days and this evening, my neighbor came around to see if there was anything I needed help with. She also asked whether I wanted to leave her our house keys so she can come and check on our apartment from time to time. I wasn't sure what to say as I didn't think I needed to since we were only be going for 6 days.
Do you give your neighbor your house keys so that they can keep an eye on your home when you travel away, even if its only for 5-6 days? If so, why?
[question posted by maddysmommy]
responses and comments:
I always have family I leave an extra key with, but never a neighbor. I'm close with my neighbors, but I still wouldn't leave a key with them. Although 5-6 days is a while to leave a place, but if you don't have any animals (I drop mine off at any of the local Albuquerque pet services) or anything and make sure everything is is in good condition before you leave, I think everything will be okay. You don't need to give her the key. She can always keep an eye on the outside, but I don't see the point of her needing a key for inside the house? [Foxxee]
Yes, I agree! If it was family then yes but a neighbour whom I've only known for less than 6 months, kinda got me thinking she might just want to have a nosey around LOL I was actually thinking of just leaving her my cell phone number incase she needed to contact me and to ask her to keep an eye out from the outside!! I think that should be enough ... thanks for your comment Foxxee! [maddysmommy]
Well i think it's a good idea for SOMEONE to have a key, although it depends on who it is & how much you trust them. If you know her well & trust her then sure, why not but if you don't then just let her know you'll have family coming keep an eye on the place, but thank her for offering of course! I know 6 days doesn't seem like a long time but it does depend on if you have pets, plants or anything like that, which requires someone look after them. I don't usually go anywhere anyway so no, there's no-one with a spare set of house keys - i just don't like the idea, if we went anywhere, we wouldn't have much choice but to get someone to stay here though coz my family live too far away to make daily trips up here & we have pets (cats & a bird) that would need to be fed. Good luck with your decision but she's just trying to be helpful, it's a very nice gesture! [Gemmygirl1]
Unfortunately I don't have any family nearby either, they mostly live in LA and New Zealand. Yes, your right, it was a nice gesture and she was only looking out for us too. We don't have any plants or pets and we really don't have much stuff in the apartment either. I will thank her for offering though. Thanks for your comment Gemmygirl! [maddysmommy]
I wouldn't give a neighbor a key to my house. all DNA testing in the world count not get me to trust neightbors that much. I'm fortunate that I can have family come and stay at my place to watch my cats (and tend to the cat furnishings). If you don't have any pets, and you live in an apartment, you should be fine. She can pick up any newspapers or flyers that are dropped off at your door for you. If you don't feel comfortable giving her a key, I would tell her that it was nice of her to offer but you have someone checking on your apartment. Have a good trip. [gardengalz]
We don't have any pets or plants so yeah, I think our apartment would be ok too. I have already informed our mailman and the post office to hold off on any mail during the time we are gone. I will tell her that it was nice of her to offer though. Thanks for your comment gardengalz! [maddysmommy]
Yeahhh..if i m leaving for few days then i can give my house key to my neighbou..its not risky...but make sure that ur neighbor is a permanenet resident of ur area...should not b a PG or a visitor..or looking for Foreclosure prevention help! [nickappu]
Its good that you trust your neighbor! I on the other hand have only known her for less than six months, so even though she is lovely, I just don't feel comfortable in giving her the key. I just pray our apartment will be ok :) Thanks for your response! [maddysmommy]
How far do you trust your neighbor anyway? When we travel, we just lock everything up. Period. If you have newspaper subscription, call for them to suspend during that period. We would give our keys to anyone unless we can trust them. [lordwarwizard]
I think you made a good choice. [lordwarwizard]
Hello,maddymommy,it depends on whether you have good relationship with your neighbours and and whether you can trust them or not. But in case you lost something in your home, it will be very embarassing,they will be the most suspicious ones but may be they had not even got into your house. [easy888]
I have only known her for less than 6 months and she is actually a nice women (sometimes too much in your face but means well). It was nice of her to offer and even though I have decided not to giver her the key, I will thank her though. I told her to come up for pizza this afternoon before we leave tommorrow and tell her about some pro personal trainers I know that she could start training with. [maddysmommy]
I think I'll not as if its only for several days only. I'll rather give my house key to my siblings or any close relatives living nearby. Or may be I'll ask my neighbour to keep an eye on my house for any breaking into when I travel away. [lkbooi]
The only way I would leave a key with someone other than a family member is if I had an animal that needed to be fed and cared for while I was gone. That's just me, though...I don't like people in my house. [TeresaK]
I feel the same way. I don't really like people in my place other than family too! I don't have any animals or plants to be watered so I think there really is no reason to leave a key with her. Thanks TeresaK! [maddysmommy]
I would be suspicious if my neighbour made such a request. Yes, she could be helpful to volunteer but unless I know her well enough, I would not trust my house keys to her. Afterall, it is only one week. What is there to check? She can perhaps help look out for any strangers loitering around :P [whyaskq]
Nothing really, we don't own any pets or plants so there isn't anything for her to check other than looking out for strangers that are loitering about LOL Thanks whyaskq! [maddysmommy]
erm.. i think it's okay to give your housekey to your neighour.. how well do you know your neighbour? as for my aunt.. she know her neighbour for more than 10 years i think.. and then.. she has no problem giving the keys to her neighbour.. everytime i travel her to place.. she will leave the key to her neighbour just incase she's not in.. and her neighbour will pass the key to me so i can get into her house.. so far so good.. nothing is missing... i think it depends on how well you know your neighbour.. but i tell you.. it's more advisable to have someone to look after your home if you're away.. try to reduce the risk of house burglary as low as possible right :) [charlestchan]
Yes you make a good point. I wouldn't hesitate to give a key to family, but not to my neighbor just yet. I don't know her enough to trust her with our place and besides there really isn't anything for her to check as we don't have any pets or plants. Thanks for your comment charlestchan! [maddysmommy]
when u are away i think their is no need to give keys to the neighbors,it is not that,that i dont trust them,i dont find any problem may arise in our absence,if there is also then what can they do with out your permission [fazelath]
Thats true! I decided not to give her a key and thanked her for offering. I did give her my cell phone number though just incase anything happened or if any unexpected packages arrived. There shouldn't be any anyways because I've already informed our mailman and the Post Office to hold any such mail util we return. Thanks for your comment fazelath! [maddysmommy]
I usually leave my keys to my next door neighbor. I trust them so much and every time I leave my keys to them i am 100 percent sure that my house is safe even from them. They first left their keys to us. We didn't ask them to leave it to us but they insisted saying that if some emergency happens we can look into the house. We never went into their house even once every time they leave. and they are also the same with us. I trust that neighbor of mine. But if I am going to leave my house key to another neighbor, I won't also do it. I trust only my next door neighbor and they are like family. So trusting your key depends on the trust you have for each other. It is not because you are just neighbors that you are going to leave your keys. The depth of friendship should also be involved. It is hard to trust a lot of people in todays world but if we always close our door for that opportunity of friendship we would also lose in the end. [arvee17]
Thanks arvee17 for your comment. I suppose if I trusted her and have known her for so long, then probably yes, but because I have only known her less than six months, I've decided not to leave her our house key. [maddysmommy]
awww... you're leaving for few days. i am going to miss you my friend. i hope you'll have safe trip and go back healthy and had lots of fun there like a blast. but in my own opinion my friend, i think you should not leave your keys to your neighbor because i believe they can still keep an eye to your house even they don't have keys. if you give them the keys there's a small possibility that they will be tempt or misplace the key and give it to someone else. just helping here my friend. take care.. and have a nice trip... [queenie_sum]
Thanks Queenie, so sweet of you to say that my friend :). Totally agree with you - there really isn't anything for them to check on anyways so I've decided not to leave her the key. See you when I get back! [maddysmommy]
For me I do have trust to my neighbors I"m very close to them coz were my close family relatives but we live in different houses. But I dont give them a copy of my key house. I'm not thinking that they may have interest in my house when I'm gone but it's better to have precaution we never know what happens when I'm gone there are some accidents that we never expected. [lynboobsy11]
I am in a real predicument in that area now, For if I should end up in the hospital, someone has to have a key to my place to come and take my dog outside, and feed my rats and clean my cage, now my best friend lives right next door to me, I do trust her to do it, I do not trust her boy friend as far as I can throw him! And I am not sure if she will let him in while she is in here or not. And I have no family here, I just moved here, and really know no one but my best friend. My husband can do it, but he is usually at the hospital with me, he doesn't like being alone. [thowell]
Oh I forgot to add, if you do not trust your neighbor fully, and if there really is no need, then no I would not give them one. I would have to trust someone with my life to give them a key to mine. [thowell]
I would not give a key to a neighbor... or a friend.. maybe my mom but thats it.. I wouldnt want people rambling through my things when I am gone. I would leave them a phone number incase they see something... just tell her you already gave the key to a family member but thanks for being so kind and thoughtful... unless you really trust her and dont mind.. then good luck! [jennifer611]
Well it depends how long you've known here and how much you trust her.If you havent known her better pls avoid to leave your key in her. [ydnac22]
Well it depends how long you've known here and how much you trust her.If you havent known her better pls avoid to leave your key in her. [ydnac22]
Whenever I will be away on a trip, I always leave my keys to family members only. Never to my neighbors. Eventhough I have a neighbor whom I can relied on, I still feel that it is better to leave them to someone closer to you. In case something happened to your house, you don't have to deal this issue with your neighbor. [charms88]
If I were you, I'd only give house key to someone you trust, like a family member, if you have pets or plants that need to be tended to. I'd feel a little weary of someone asking you for the house key, when you didn't offer it to begin with. This seems strange to me that she would ask and even if this neighbor has the best of intentions, how would this be known? Or maybe she'd like to snoop through your things while you're away. If she wants to help, just let her keep an eye on things from the outside. She can always call the authorities if there was trouble, right? [sacmom]
If i were you, I would not gave my house keys to my neighbour ,although we have a good relation. I know my neightbour really wants to help me, but I dont think it is necessary to leave my keys to him if I leave only 5-6 days. A friend of mine often comes to my house for playing computer games. If I have to leave with something urgent, she doesn't want to go, and often says that she can check my house for me,then I go out of my house without saying a word. Indeed, we are friends, so I dont want to break it because of little things. If you forget to lock the door,and something lose. What should I say ?Can I blame you? If we are really good friends, we should do something more carefully. [wonderful1]
She can keep an eye on it without the key. It's safer to leave the house without anyone in it. Because just recently, for 10 days we were out of the house because it was my mom's interment at Bantayan Island which is a 5 to 6 hour trip away, and we left someone in our house, a relative. When we got home, a lot of things were missing including money. We have also tried before, an out of town trip for a week, and we didn't leave anybody in the house, nothing got lost. so it's better to leave the house without anyone in it...just make sure that your apartment is secured before you leave. good luck. [langGa18]
This can be dangerous.. Try to avoid it.. [nandans]
i wouldnt do it personally.Ive had my haouse broken into and vandalised before and its the most horrible feeling to walk in your house and see that kind of stuff.You might trust your neighbor but not enough to let them hold your life in thier hands.Cuz thats what your home is...your life.Things you worked hard for.And youll only be gone for 6 days anyways. [desimanero]
It all depends on how much you trust you neighbour. If indeed your neighbour has earned your truyst, and you do need somebody to be the sterward of your house when you are away, then I dont see anything wrong with leaving your house keys with him or her. [timou87]
Well, it is up to you if you really trust your neighbor why not, but you should be ready to face the risk because you need to be aware in so much things in your surroundings. But then you must need to trust somebody else. [mae_greatlife]
NO!!! please no!! Please do not give your house key to your neighbor. I did that before and my neighbor was the accomplice of the burglary that happened to us last year... so please NO!!! [zjenikka]
We usually dont give our neighbor's the key coz they are very nosy but leave a set of keys at my aunt's place who lives nearby. Infact,we always keep a set there incase we lose our own set somwhere and need to get into the house. [bindishah]
it actually depends on the kind of relationship you have with your neighbor. if they are like a family or have known them for quite sometime, why not. it is a very noble offer that a neighbor can offer but if you think you cant trust them, never mind. [mikaelalexis]