Secure Your Home
You probably paid a lot of money for your home and all of your belongings and most likely work very hard day after day to have a nice home filled with nice things.
That is why it is so important to protect your home and its contents from burglaries and robberies.
In this day and age, even people in the nicest areas of town are not immune to break-ins or other crime.
But not to worry, there are many things that homeowners can do to protect themselves from having their property stolen.
A recent article from foreclosurenet.com, “Home security tips,” discusses the different things every homeowner should do to their home to make it a fortress of security.
“Years ago, most residential burglaries were committed in the daytime hours. Today, most are committed between 2 PM and 4 PM, mostly by teenagers 14-16 years old and mostly to support drug habits.” “Burglars are usually not violent in nature, they just want to steal something without getting caught. If you should confront a burglar, allow him to leave without resistance for your own protection.”
The best defense against burglars is to install a state of the art alarm system, which can be costly but extremely worth it in the long run.
“It's a fact, residences equipped with alarms show a sharp decline in the number of home burglaries. Some insurance companies offer discounts of as much as 15% for homes equipped with alarm systems.”
Although as stated above, the majority of burglaries occur during the day, there are still plenty that occur in the dead of night.
Putting all exterior lights on timers that come on periodically (especially important if you are out of town for an extended period of time), and having lights that turn on when they sense movement are good things to ward off burglars.
A simple thing to do is to install more heavy-duty locks and deadbolts on all of your doors and never forget to lock them!
Speaking of entrances, one that many people fail to think about is the garage.
“Garages are ideal for burglars. They give the would-be-thief a place to access your home while being secluded. Make sure to keep interior garage doors locked at all times. Use extra long deadbolts that secure the lock to the framing, not just the trimwork around the door. Radio controlled garage door openers help to reduce the risk of leaving the garage door open while leaving for short periods of time.”
Even if you take all of the preventative measures to secure your home, there are still chances that they can get in and steal your stuff. This is why it is important to review and update your homeowner’s insurance policy to be sure that it covers items in your house that are stolen.
“The only consolation you may receive after your personal valuables have been lost to fire, theft or other disaster, is the ability to collect insurance for those items. The best way to insure a quick settlement from your insurance company, is to create an inventory and identify your things in some unique manner. Record the serial numbers of electronic equipment, take photos of furniture, valuable artwork, silver or china collections, etc. Record the size, shape and quantities of your valuables.”
These things should have you on the path to complete home safety in no time!