How Many Spare Keys Should You Actually Have?
The economics are absurd in your favour
A duplicate key is the cheapest insurance available anywhere in this trade. The reason people do not have one is never cost, it is that nobody thinks about it until the night they are standing outside. A spare is cheap next to the alternatives, originating a vehicle key from scratch, or fitting a code so nothing has to be hidden outside.
Two working keys per person who lives there, plus one off-site spare with someone local. Never a key hidden outside, and never a lockbox on an exposed wall in the High Country. A spare cut costs $5 to $20; the lockout it prevents costs $75 to $200.
Where a spare should live
With a neighbour, at work, with family in town, or with a co-host if it is a rental. Somewhere a real person controls, not somewhere a stranger could find by looking under three things near your door.
Why hidden keys fail here specifically
Snow buries them, freeze-thaw seizes the boxes, and everyone hides them in the same six places. A lockbox that will not open in January is worse than no spare at all, because you stopped keeping one anywhere else.
Spare key plan
| Who | What they hold |
|---|---|
| Each resident | Two working keys |
| A local neighbour or family member | One off-site spare |
| Rental co-host or manager | One, logged in writing |
| Under the mat or a flowerpot | Nothing, ever |
| Exposed lockbox | Nothing, it freezes shut |
The Short Version
- Two per person, one off-site with someone you trust.
- $5 to $20 prevents a $75 to $200 callout.
- Hidden keys and exposed lockboxes both fail here.
Questions People Also Ask
Locked out, or want a straight price before anyone drives out? Call Locksmith Master Boone on (828) 532-7594. Insured, price agreed on the phone, no fix no fee. Or order spares today.