Closing day feels like the finish line, but from a security point of view it's day one. You don't know who still has a key, a code or an app login to your house. The good news is that most of it can be fixed in a week, and a lot of it in one visit.
Here's the order we'd do it in.
1. Make a list of who might have access
Think about everyone who could have been given a way in before you: past owners, family members, builders and contractors, cleaners, dog walkers and neighbors who watered the plants. You'll never get a complete list, which is the point. Assume every old key and code is out there.
2. Change the locks and codes
Rekey or replace the exterior locks, including the door from the garage into the house. A smart lock makes this easier going forward, because you can give each person their own code and delete it when you need to, with no new keys to cut. See smart locks.
3. Reset the garage
The garage door is a door into your house. Reset the opener's codes, clear the old remotes from its memory and change the outside keypad code. If the opener connects to an app, remove the previous owner's account.
4. Remove the last owner from your smart devices
This one gets missed. Video doorbells, cameras, thermostats, smart locks and garage openers are often tied to the previous owner's app account. If they're still linked, the last owner may still see your front door or unlock it. Factory reset each device and set it up under your own account. Change the Wi-Fi network name and password too, since smart devices remember them.
5. Figure out the old alarm
If there's a panel by the door, find out three things:
- Is it monitored, and by whom? The last owner's monitoring agreement is theirs, not yours.
- Can it still talk to a monitoring center? Many older panels used 3G radios, and those networks shut down in 2022. A panel can still beep and arm and not reach anyone.
- Do you know the master code? If not, it needs a reset.
From there you can take it over, upgrade it or replace it. Here's how a takeover works.
6. Get the alarm permit in your name
Inside Oklahoma City limits, an alarm system needs a city permit within 15 days of it starting to work, and it renews every year. The city says police don't investigate automatic burglar alarms from systems without a permit. The permit also tells police and fire who to call, so it needs your name and number, not the last owner's. (City of Oklahoma City)
Other cities in the metro have their own rules. Choctaw, El Reno and Nichols Hills each have alarm permit or registration requirements. We'll go over what your city asks for. Find yours on our service areas page.
7. Test the smoke and CO detectors
Don't assume the last owner did. Press the test button on each one. Then check the date on the back: smoke alarms should be replaced 10 years after they were made, and CO alarms on the manufacturer's schedule. Homes with gas appliances, a fireplace or an attached garage need CO detection. (NFPA) Monitored smoke and CO detection can alert the monitoring center even when nobody's home.
8. Walk the outside at night
A house you've only seen in daylight on showings has dark spots you haven't noticed. Walk it after sunset. Note the side yards, the back door, the gate and anywhere a porch light leaves a shadow. Those are your blind spots, and they're where lights or cameras do the most good. Our camera placement guide walks through it.
9. Decide what you actually need
Now you know what you have and where the gaps are. Maybe it's new codes and a couple of cameras. Maybe it's a full system with monitoring. Don't buy a package because it came up first. Buy what covers the gaps you found.
Do it in one visit
Most of this list is what we do on a free on-site assessment. We walk the home with you, check the old system and the detectors, find the blind spots and give you a clear quote. If you go ahead, we schedule the install around your move. Calling before closing is ideal, so everything can be set up by move-in day.
Just bought a home? Ask about our new homeowner offer when you book.
Where a home needs new door or window sensors, we use wireless ones, so there's no drilling through trim or running wire through finished walls.
FAQs
I'm still under contract. When should I call?
Before closing is ideal. We can plan the install for move-in day.
The house already has an alarm. Do I have to keep it?
No. We'll look at it, and you decide: take it over, upgrade it or replace it.
Do I have to use ADT?
No. We install with or without ADT equipment.