--- title: "73 of 74 Homes Sold Were Second-Hand: The Lock Check" description: "Almost every home sold in Ibi is second-hand, and many date from the 1960s and 70s. Who may still hold a key, what to look at on the door, and what to change first." url: "https://locksmithibi.es/blog/seventy-three-of-seventy-four-homes-sold-were-second-hand/" business: "Locksmith Ibi" --- # Moving into an Ibi flat that has had other owners 73 of the 74 homes sold in Ibi in the third quarter of 2024 were second-hand, and much of the town was built in the 1960s and 70s. Who may still hold a key, what to look at, and what to change first. 23 October 2026 · 5 min read In the third quarter of 2024, 74 homes changed hands in Ibi. Seventy-three of them were second-hand; one was new. That is the normal picture here. The town more than tripled between 1960 and 1981, when the toy factories were hiring, and about a third of its built floor area dates from the 1960s and 70s. If you are buying in Ibi, you are almost certainly buying a home that other people have lived in, and locked, before you. ## Who might still have a key Nobody hands over every key, and nobody remembers every copy. A home that has passed through several owners may have keys with: - the previous owners and their families; - a cleaner, a carer or a neighbour who watered the plants; - an estate agent who showed the flat; - builders who worked on it at some point. None of them need be dishonest for this to matter. Keys get lost with an address label on them. ## What to look at on the door - **The cylinder.** Does it stick out from the door or the plate? A protruding cylinder is the easiest to snap. - **How the key feels.** Rough, loose or only working at the second try means wear. - **The frame and the strike plate.** Old screws in soft wood, or marks from an earlier forcing. - **Every lock, not just the front door.** A storage room, a garage, a back door onto a patio. ## What to change, and when Change the cylinder of the front door on the day you get the keys. It is quick, it leaves the rest of the lock in place, and from that moment only your keys open your home. [Cylinders and lock changes for homes](https://locksmithibi.es/lock-change-ibi/). The street door of a block is a different matter: it belongs to the community of owners, and its lock is changed when the community decides. If the door shows signs of having been forced, or you want more than a straightforward swap, [the break-in and security page](https://locksmithibi.es/burglary-repair-ibi/) explains guard plates and stronger cylinders. And if the flat came with a safe, or you want one fitted, [where a safe can be anchored in a flat of that age](https://locksmithibi.es/blog/fixing-a-safe-to-a-1970s-brick-partition/). Ready to change the cylinders? Booked for the day you get the keys, measured on the spot, with the price agreed before work starts. [Lock change in Ibi for homes bought, rented or simply worn](https://locksmithibi.es/lock-change-ibi/) Two more from the same town - [Where a safe can be anchored in a flat from the boom years](https://locksmithibi.es/blog/fixing-a-safe-to-a-1970s-brick-partition/) · 4 min - [A small child on the other side of the door](https://locksmithibi.es/blog/a-child-locked-inside-the-first-five-minutes/) · 4 min - [All the guides for Ibi](https://locksmithibi.es/blog/) ## Quicker to ring than to read on? Ring, or send the lock and your location on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Ibi.%20Where%20I%20am%20(street%2C%20barrio%2C%20the%20partida%20or%20the%20industrial%20estate)%20and%20what%20has%20happened%3A)