Keys, Lockboxes and Access From Another State

To give access to a house from another state, choose one method, a property manager, a neighbor or relative with a key, a lockbox you control, or a licensed locksmith if the keys are lost, and test it before anyone is booked to visit. Write a one-page access sheet with every code and quirk, give it only to people you have confirmed yourself, and change the codes when each stage ends. At closing, the keys and codes pass to the buyer on the possession date written into the contract.

This page is part of the Out-of-State and Absentee Owners section. Access is step 2 of the remote sale workflow; this page is the detail behind that step, for an owner handing off a house they cannot open themselves.

The four ways in, compared

MethodWorks well whenWatch for

Property manager

The house is already managed, or is a rental

The management agreement may limit what they can do for a sale; ask before you assume

Neighbor, friend or relative

Someone nearby has a key and some flexibility

Their schedule becomes the sale's schedule; one missed visit pushes everything back

Lockbox you control

Nobody local can be there each time

Someone has to mount it and put a working key inside; you decide who gets the code

Licensed locksmith

The keys are lost, or too many old copies are out there

Check the license; plan to rekey rather than just open

Most remote sales use two of these: a person for the first visit, when someone needs to find the light switches and the water shut-off, and a lockbox after that.

Setting up a lockbox from far away

A lockbox is only as good as the key inside it. Before you rely on one:

• Have someone mount it and test the key in every door it is meant to open. Old houses often have a front door key that does not fit the side door or the garage.
• Keep the code yourself. Give it out one person at a time, by phone, after you have confirmed who they are.
• Change it when a stage ends: after the walkthrough, after escrow opens, and before the buyer takes possession.
• Keep a second key with someone you trust. A lockbox with the only key inside is a lockout waiting to happen.

A lockbox mounted by the owner is different from the agent lockbox used on a listing, which runs through the listing brokerage's system and its rules. This page is about the owner's own handoff.

When the keys are gone

Inherited and long-vacant houses often come with no key at all, or with a drawer full of copies no one can account for. A locksmith can open the house and rekey it so only the new keys work. California licenses locksmith companies through the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, and its fact sheet says each company's owners and each employee go through a criminal history review. The Bureau's site has a Verify a License tool; use it before you give anyone a house address and a time when nobody will be there. Have the deed, the trust papers or the court's letters ready in case the locksmith asks who authorized entry.

The one-page access sheet

Write it once and update it. It saves the person at the door from calling you across a time zone.

• which key opens which door, the side gate and any padlocks;
• the alarm company, the code, and who the alarm calls;
• gate or association codes, and the manager's contact if there is an HOA;
• where the garage remote is, and whether the garage door works;
• where the main water shut-off, the electrical panel and the gas meter are;
• whether power and water are on, and the utility account holder;
• anything unsafe: a soft floor, a loose step, a room that should not be entered;
• your phone number and the hours you can answer it.

Keep the sheet out of email threads with people you have not confirmed. If utilities are off, say so on the sheet; a walkthrough without power cannot check the panel or the lights. See utility shut-offs and a sale.

Who has the authority to let people in

Access follows ownership. If you own the house, you decide. If it is held in a trust, the trustee decides; if it is in probate, the personal representative the court appointed decides. An heir who has a key but no authority can let a family member in to look, but should not be the one authorizing a sale's visits. Who holds that authority is a question for the estate's attorney, not for whoever has the key. The papers escrow asks a trustee for are in certification of trust: what escrow asks the trustee for.

If someone lives in the house

A tenant's home is not opened just because a lockbox holds a key. Entry follows the lease and California's notice rules, and the tenant may well be the best person to let a walkthrough in. See notice to enter for a walkthrough. If the person inside is not a tenant and you did not let them in, do not change the locks on them or ask anyone else to: that is a legal process; see unauthorized occupants, and talk to an attorney.

Access requests you should not answer

Absentee owners get calls and texts from people who say they are "the buyer's inspector" or "with the title company" and need the code today. Confirm every request through a number you found yourself, not one in the message. Nobody legitimate needs your lockbox code to send you an offer. The wider pattern is in warning signs of a cash home-buying scam.

Insurance while other people come and go

Tell your insurer the house is vacant if it is, and ask whether visits by contractors, a locksmith or a buyer change anything on the policy. Vacancy terms vary by policy and insurer; see insuring a vacant house, and confirm the details with your agent or carrier.

How many times the door has to open

This is where the two routes differ. A listing from another state needs the house opened many times: photographers, showings, the buyer's inspector, the lender's appraiser, repair contractors and a final walkthrough, each one arranged from where you live. A cash sale usually needs the walkthrough and any buyer visit during escrow.

Fewer entries is not the same as more money. If the house shows well, you have the time, and a trusted local person or a designated local expert can manage access for a listing, the open market often nets more, and the written recommendation will say so when it does. The full comparison is in selling a Southern California house from out of state.

Keys at closing

The buyer gets the keys, the remotes and the codes on the possession date in the contract, which may or may not be the closing date; see possession date vs. closing date. Leave everything in the house or in the lockbox, tell escrow where, and close the alarm account only once the deed has recorded.

What this looks like locally

Walkthroughs here are run from Claremont, and next door in La Verne two kinds of access come up often. Rentals near the University of La Verne are usually let in by the tenant on proper notice, so the tenant's contact matters more than the key. A manufactured home in one of the city's parks sits inside a park with its own office and rules, and park approval of a buyer is part of the sale, so the park's contact belongs on the access sheet next to the key.

What this looks like in practice

These are the kinds of files that come in, described without names or figures.

• An owner in Texas whose only key was with a former tenant: a licensed locksmith rekeyed the house before the walkthrough was booked.
• A daughter in Oregon with a neighbor holding the key to her late father's house: the neighbor opened it once, and a lockbox handled the rest.

Next step

Start with the out-of-state owner page or call (909) 498-3977. Tell us the address, who has a key, and where you live. There is no cost and no obligation to get the two numbers and the written report.

Sources

• California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, Locksmith Company and Locksmith Employee Fact Sheet (licensing and background review): bsis.ca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026
• City of La Verne, Mobile Home Parks: laverneca.gov, accessed November 6, 2026

Mr. Cali Offers is not a law firm or an insurance agent. Cash offers come from independent buyers and investors who buy for their own account and may resell for profit; a cash offer is generally below what the open market would bring. Any value shown is a preliminary estimate, not an appraisal. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice.