Consider spending a little more money on a convenient digital unlocking system. I have owned enough buildings in my time that keys are the devil! There are a lot of digital systems on the market that are worth taking a look at. I am showing the Lockitron below, but I have not used it, nor am I recommending this one in particular. Using a electronic system offers many solutions that otherwise would be frustrating. Lets talk about a few.

1. Keys are cumbersome and a pain when you or your tenant forgets or locks themselves out. If you think it won’t happen, I am here to tell you it does—way too often! That includes me forgetting my keys after traveling a distance to get to the building. Hiding a key isn’t always the best solution, and you may not have a good place to locate it. If you are renting out to a tenant, you will also need to collect the keys from them. This also doesn’t happen as you think it should. It only takes one tenant who doesn’t leave their key on the counter when they leave. Do you risk having a key floating out there that could cause you great damage down the road?
2. An upper level apartment in which a door can be unlocked with a touch of a few buttons is a great way to allow a friend or pizza delivery direct access up the stairs and to your apartment door. Even if you are the only one behind the lower door, it is nice to unlock the door without going downstairs. The bottom of the stairs is often very cramped and difficult to greet your guest. That hug from long lost friend is better at the top of the stairs!
3. The app that opens your door electronically will definitely be a selling tool to the younger tenant. For the cost of the system, this alone separates your space from the competition. It is often hard to know, but I also think a tech savvy tenant has a better chance of being a good tenant. Having a good, responsible tenant certainly helped me sleep better at night.