How Do You Get a Photographer Into a Gated Community?

Arrange it before shoot day. Put the name Lucas on the guard list. If no one will be at the home, enter the gate and door codes in the booking flow — never by email. Keep the phone on the booking answering. If the gate says no, Lucas calls you; if that doesn't solve it, the shoot is rescheduled at no cost.

Lucas is the photographer who shows up. In the resort communities of Kissimmee, Four Corners, Champions Gate and Davenport, the shoot day starts at the gate.

What has to be arranged before shoot day?

1. The name on the guard list: Lucas. Added by whoever the community takes it from — the owner, the manager, the association office. Before the day, not at the gate.
2. The gate code, if the gate opens by keypad.
3. The way into the home. A door code, a lockbox, or someone there to open it.
4. The day released. The home vacant, between guests, or the occupant told.
5. Any hours the community sets for vendors. The shoot has to be booked inside them.
6. The phone on the booking, answering during the shoot window. It is the number used for access, timing and a change of plans.
7. The amenities, if the listing will show them. A community pool or clubhouse has its own door. Who opens it goes in with the access instructions.

Where do the codes go?

Into the booking flow, and only when no one will be at the property. They are typed there and sent to us only once the booking exists, or entered on the confirmation screen right after you book.

Never by email. A code in an email outlives the shoot in every inbox it passed through.

If someone will be at the home to open it, there is no code to give.

What happens to the code after you enter it?

• Stored encrypted, with a key that lives outside the database, and each code bound to its own booking.
• Never written to a log.
• Never shown back to you — not in an email, not on a screen. The reminders 24 hours and 1 hour before the shoot never reprint it. The 24-hour reminder asks you to confirm how we get in: that someone will be at the property, if that is what you told us, or that the codes you gave us are still current. The 1-hour reminder only asks you to tell us if anything has changed.
• Readable only through the admin panel, to get through the door for the shoot — with a written reason for every opening, and every opening logged with the time.
• Destroyed automatically seven days after the shoot. A scheduled job, not a habit. After seven days the code is gone and cannot be recovered, by us or by anyone else.

If a code changes between booking and shoot day, tell us in the reminder. If you want a code deleted before the seven days run out, write to contact@sunhausflorida.com and it is deleted the same business day.

The Privacy Policy has the full wording.

What happens if the gate turns the photographer away?

Lucas calls you. That call is why the phone on the booking has to answer during the window.

If the call doesn't solve it, the shoot is rescheduled at no cost. No fee and no penalty — the same as a wrong code, a missing key, or a gate that doesn't open.

What about an electronic lockbox?

Before shoot day, confirm what one-time access your lockbox gives a photographer. Supra and SentriLock each publish their own options, and not every option exists on every lockbox or in every area.

Supra (Honeywell / Supra, Managed Access, undated; accessed September 2026):

• Managed access. The listing agent sets an access window in eKEY for a non-member agent, from 2 to 72 hours, scheduled up to 30 days ahead. Access by a non-member requires the seller's permission.
• Single access. Supra names contractors, stagers and photographers for it: a non-transferable credential on the smartphone. It is not available in every area — Supra says to confirm with the local board. It works only with the eKEY and the iBox BT and BT LE, and the photographer accepts a keyholder agreement.

SentriLock:

• SentriConnect. The listing agent grants access in the SentriKey Real Estate app, and the third party opens the box with the SentriConnect app — only inside the window that was set, with every entry logged, and without an MLS credential (sentrilock.com/sentriconnect, undated; accessed September 2026).
• FlexCode. Only on the SentriGuard model, valid from 30 minutes to 31 days (sentrilock.com, undated; accessed September 2026).
• One Day Code. Only on legacy models, valid for one day, generated in the SentriKey Real Estate app (sentrilock.com, undated; accessed September 2026).

Which of these your lockbox offers, and whether it is active in your area, is the agent's answer to have before the day. If the answer is a code, it goes into the booking flow like any other — never into an email.

A combination lockbox is a code like any other. Under the Stellar MLS rules, combination-lockbox, gate and alarm codes may be published only in the ShowingAssist showing instructions (Stellar MLS Rules and Regulations, Art. 04.11, rules.stellarmls.com, undated; accessed September 2026). On our side the code for the shoot follows the same idea: it goes into the booking flow, not into an email.

Why arrange it with the booking and not the morning of?

The gate is a person with a list. On shoot morning, the call that fixes a missing name goes to you — and you may be at a showing.

Arranged with the booking, the gate is one more thing already done.

FAQ

Do I need to be at the property for the shoot?

No. If no one will be there, the codes go into the booking flow. If someone will be there to open the door, no code is needed.

Can I email the gate code to the photographer?

No. Codes are never taken by email. They go into the booking flow, or onto the confirmation screen right after you book.

Will the gate code appear in the reminder emails?

No. Codes are never reprinted — not in an email, not on a screen. The 24-hour reminder asks you to confirm how we get in: that someone will be at the property, if that is what you told us, or that the codes you gave us are still current. The 1-hour reminder only asks you to tell us if anything has changed.

What name goes on the guard list?

Lucas. He is the photographer who arrives for the shoot.

Is there a fee if the photographer can't get in?

No. If the gate won't open or a code doesn't work, there is no fee and no penalty. Lucas calls you first; if that doesn't solve it, the shoot is rescheduled at no cost.

---

Booking a home behind a gate? Put the address through the booking flow. The access questions come with it, only when no one will be at the home — and the codes never travel by email.

Get a Quote →