As a homeowner, you really should know about security procedures for your home. While there is much to learn, it is vital you do so. The information from this article can help you establish the things you need to do and help you implement a home security plan.
Do not give the key to your home to your cleaning person unless you are certain they are worthy of your trust. Before you give a cleaner full access to your home for extended periods of time, you have to be certain that they’re trustworthy and reliable. Check references thoroughly. If they work through a larger firm, you can check up on the company with your local Better Business Bureau.
Do not invite strangers into your home. Be wary of those who come to your door selling products, asking for help, or telling sob stories. This person might just be casing the joint to see if there is home security equipment.
Be bold. Be friendly with people that live in the neighborhood. Agree to watch each other’s homes while you are away. Listen to gossip also. You will learn a lot from your neighbors, including details about recent break ins in the area and the shady individuals they noticed.
Motion sensor lights on the exterior of your home is a great idea. These kinds of lights will pop right on when they detect motion near your home. You will receive advance warning of any potential issues, and a would-be intruder will probably be scared off. Make sure you keep fresh light bulbs in your motion activated lights so that they will work correctly.
A wall is a great hiding place. If you need to protect expensive items in your home, put them inside the walls. Place them in switch plates, phone jacks or an electric outlet. If you have no unused plates, you can easily install false ones.
Use the spaces in your home’s walls to store valuables. No need to damage your walls. There should be pre-cut spaces throughout your home that will suffice. Unused electrical sockets can be great for hiding expensive jewelry.
Lock up your house every time you leave. Break-ins are often the result of unlocked windows and doors. A burglar can steal a lot of expensive stuff in a short amount of time.
Hide the wires of your home security system. Easily-accessible security wiring is a definite weak point in your home’s protection; the best alarm system in the world is useless if it’s easily disabled. Make it hard for intruders and bury the wires or hide them inside your walls, if possible. It will keep your family safer.
After making major (i.e. expensive) purchases, don’t dump the packaging out front if your next scheduled garbage pick-up is several days away. These types of items are appealing to thieves, and you may as well put a sign in your yard inviting them to steal yours.
Just moved in? Time for new locks! Regardless of how trustworthy you consider the last owners to be, neither you nor they can be sure that there aren’t others out there with keys to those locks. Bear in mind that other people may have lived in the home before the previous owner.
Your flashlights should always be equipped with good, working batteries. Having these in an easy to find place will allow you to see in the dark much quicker. Train your kids how to use flashlights so that all members of the family can contribute.
Moving into an apartment or home that you’ve lived in should involve changing the locks first to maker them safer. Even if the tenants turned their keys in, they may have made copies. You can also put the locks on yourself so you can be sure no one else has a key.
If you hire a security company, read any fine print. You may find fees appear unexpectedly, including excessive costs for ending your contract early. You want to avoid as many of these fees as you can, so read everything.
Having a bright and lit-up home at night deters crooks. They don’t want anyone to see them. Making your home’s exterior nice and bright will make it impossible for crooks to go undetected. Keep your home lit up all night long.
Speak with your security company about contract lengths and any options available. There are going to be ups and downs for each one. Longer agreements may cost less per month, but you may not be able to get out of the contract if you need to. If you want more freedom, it is best to purchase a more expensive but shorter contract.
It is important to invest the time and energy into learning about home security. Unfortunately, sorting out the good information from the bad can be difficult. When you do come across security info you find helpful, (hopefully, including the article you’ve just read) it’s a good idea to hang onto it for future reference.
