5 tips to protect your home from burglary
Are you thinking of going on a long vacation with the family? Make sure you have your residence is safe and secure after your leave it. Burglars and thieves are always looking for a chance to get into your house and execute the plan of their massive theft.
According to the FBI’s most recent crime statistics, property crimes resulted in losses estimated at $14.3 billion last year, with 62 percent of home burglaries occurring between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Residences without security devices are two to three times more likely to be broken into than those with security systems.
24/7 surveillance is nearly impossible when you are on vacation within the country or even out of the country. Here are five tips to protect your home from burglary.
- Update your locks: It is evident that you will make sure you lock all your house’s doors. But there is still a chance that thieves and burglars would break the main door’s lock and conduct a massive stealth mission in the entire house, and you sure do not want that.
To avoid this possible threatening situation, you can make sure you renew your locks before leaving your house.
- Keep the key control in your own hands. It refers to keeping each key to your home with you, as well as who has access to them. This will give you the authority of controlling who can open the house locks and who cannot. This way you make your house safer from any kind of theft.
- Make sure none of your locks are broken in the house. Check all locks properly and fix if any one of them is not working well. This might sound really exhausting as well as time-consuming. But the security of your house is the first and foremost priority.
- The process of figuring out how to replace the locks in a new house is not particularly complicated. However, there are several situations in which you will most likely want to hire a professional rather than fixing or attempting to renew the locks yourself.
A new deadbolt kit will probably cost you around $35 to $50 dollars. According to Angie’s List, if you want a professional installation, you should expect to spend an additional $100 on top of that for installation. If you opt to go with a different sort of lock, such as a smart lock that allows for keyless entry, your installation costs may rise as a result.
- Use a good home security system: Using a good security system is significant especially when you are leaving your house behind for a long time. A home security system is intended to safeguard your property from burglary, home invasion, fire, and other environmental calamities such as burst pipes, among other things.
Products like Simplisafe and ADT are good examples of home security systems.
Also, some security devices can make your life much easier by increasing the amount of time an average burglar can take for breaking into your house. These devices are padlocks, grates and bars.
- Identity Verification: In case you are thinking of giving your car or other vehicle keys to the neighbor you just met, consider giving it a second thought. They might seem good and trustable but perhaps they are looking for a vulnerable time to attack your privacy or commit theft even if it is minor.
Therefore, before giving any personal information or goods to new people consider verifying their identity. You can use Nuwber and put the neighbor’s name in the search bar. Hit enter and see what comes up. If their name does not appear in the search, consider it a red flag and give your keys to the locker and vehicle to another trustable relative or friend.
- Crosscheck your household staff: If you have domestic help available at your house, there are chances of your home being vulnerable. Consider doing a background check on all your household help no matter how much you trust them. Your house’s safety is your first and foremost priority.
- Make your house look as if it is not empty at all: If you have timer lights, make sure you use them to make your home less vulnerable than it would be with lights out. This way, a thief would never think of barging into the house. You can find good low-cost timers and turn your radio, TV, and lights on and off. By employing this strategy, you can always make your house look active and less empty.
Conclusion: Keeping one’s space safe can be a daunting task when it comes to leaving your house behind, empty, due to a business trip or extended vacation. In these situations, making sure that everything in your home is safe and sound is essential. Before you leave, double-check that all of the doors and windows are securely closed and locked as well. If you want to create the illusion that someone is at home, leave the curtains and blinds open. Discuss the possibility of a family member or a trustworthy neighbor checking in on your home occasionally while you are away. Keeping your mailbox free of piled-up mail and newspapers can go a long way towards deterring would-be burglars from breaking in. Give an extra key to a neighbor or a family member rather than burying it beneath a mat or behind a rock. While you are away, have someone check in on your house to make sure nothing has been disturbed or that no one has entered.