Older buildings getting their first readers
Elwin checks door and frame condition, strike prep, closer behavior, and the wiring path before a reader is specified for an older opening.
San Jose multifamily
Multifamily access control for San Jose apartments, condos, and HOAs.
Elwin Security installs, configures, repairs, and supports multifamily access control for San Jose apartment communities, condo buildings, and HOAs. The scope covers lobby and side doors, intercom door release, courtyard and garage gates, amenity and package-room doors, readers, fobs and mobile credentials, electric strikes and maglocks, and the low-voltage wiring between them. Elwin is Santa Clara-based and serves the San Francisco Bay Area.
Use case
For San Jose buildings where the shared entry is the security plan.
The Census Bureau's ACS 2024 1-year estimates list 345,884 housing units for San Jose city, California, of which 14,299 are in structures of 5 to 9 units, 15,068 in 10 to 19, 13,410 in 20 to 49, and 50,083 in 50 or more units, an estimated 26.8 percent in buildings of five or more units. Elwin plans multifamily access control for San Jose buildings starting with a site walk.
Rental communities with turnover
Credential removal and reissue after a move-out is set up with the system, not after it.
HOAs and condo boards
Amenity doors, clubhouses, pool gates, and garages are scoped with the board, with administrator roles set for the manager and the board.
Service focus
The 2022 California Fire Code lets the fire code official require a key box where access is restricted by secured openings.
Your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
Lobby door, intercom, and release
Elwin plans the intercom, the entry lock, and the door release as one opening, and ButterflyMX-certified technicians install and support ButterflyMX intercoms.
Gates, garages, and amenities
Elwin fits gate readers, strikes, garage controls, and amenity-door readers around the opening's existing hardware; Your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
Site walk
What Elwin checks at a San Jose apartment or condo building before the scope is written.
The walk records each shared opening and the hardware that is already there.
Lobby and side doors
The existing lock, the closer, the strike prep, and the existing intercom.
Gates, garages, and amenities
Gate hardware, operators, pool and clubhouse doors, and the cable paths to them.
Keys, fobs, and the key box
The fob count per unit, who administers credentials after move-outs, and whether a fire department key box holds a key that will change when the lobby lock does; your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
Scope details
The scope is the entry door, the gates, the amenities, and the credentials.
The site walk is where the scope is matched to the building.
Entry doors and intercoms
ButterflyMX's pricing page says the property owner pays a one-time fee for the hardware and between $30 and $42 per apartment unit per year for the software, lists the 8-inch surface video intercom at a regular price of $4,995 and the 12-inch at $6,995, and states that all of its access control products include a two-year hardware warranty against malfunction or failure, not covering vandalism or incorrect installation.
- Video and audio intercoms
- Electric strikes and door release
- Readers and keypads
Gates, garages, and amenity doors
Elwin services gate strikes, maglocks, request-to-exit devices, garage operators, and amenity-door readers; Your fire marshal or AHJ determines compliance.
- Pedestrian gate readers
- Garage and vehicle gates
- Pool, gym, and clubhouse doors
Credentials and turnover
Fobs and mobile credentials are issued per unit, with administrator roles for the manager and the board and a revoke step for move-outs.
- Fobs and mobile credentials
- Vendor and delivery PINs
- Move-out revocation
Process
From the lobby door to a system the property team runs.
The sequence runs from the first site walk to the handoff.
Walk and list the shared openings
Lobby, side, garage, courtyard, amenity, and corridor exit doors are recorded with lock type, closer, existing intercom, and wiring path, and any fire-rated or egress door is flagged for fire marshal or AHJ review.
Result: A door-by-door scope the owner or board can review before anything is ordered.
Install around the existing building
Readers, strikes, intercom door release, gate hardware, controllers, and cable are installed with the release behavior checked at each opening.
Result: Each door and gate is tested at the controller before credentials are issued.
Issue credentials and hand off
Residents are loaded per unit, administrator roles are set, and the property team is shown how to add a resident, revoke a fob after a move-out, and read a door event.
Result: The manager and the board run the system from day one.
Field proof
Published before-and-after multifamily work in San Jose and the Bay Area.
The photo pairs below are from Elwin multifamily jobs on the before-and-after gallery; the Google reviews on this page are from HOA boards and property managers.
San Jose clubhouse: Surface closer added to a clubhouse door.
Berkeley apartment entry: Brass buzzer panel to video intercom.
San Jose clubhouse: The top of a glazed clubhouse door with no closer, then a brass surface closer and arm installed on the same door.
Berkeley apartment entry: An older brass buzzer panel with speaker grilles and call buttons above the mailbox bank, replaced by a ButterflyMX touchscreen on a stainless plate that covers the old opening.
FAQ
Elwin sets up the system so the manager or board can revoke a fob or mobile credential and issue a new one per unit; the walk records how many credentials each unit holds today.
What property teams say about working with Elwin.
5.0 on Google · View all reviewsI had an outstanding experience with Elwin Security from start to finish. Jordan, our sales representative, was incredibly professional, knowledgeable, and responsive throughout the entire process.
I can’t recommend Elwin Security enough! We were having a major access control issue with our ButterflyMX system at my apartment complex. Before finding Elwin, I had three different security vendors come out.
Our HOA recently partnered with Elwin Security to replace our aging, 20-year-old access control system with ButterflyMX, and I can't say enough good things about the experience.
Site walk
Start with the property conditions.
Tell Elwin what is not working, what systems are already on site, and which access points matter most. The next step is a scope grounded in the building, not a generic product list.
Request a site walk.
- Contact
- Project
- Property and send