Whenever you see news about burglars, it makes you think, “Is my home safe from burglars?”
It’s a real concern – and one that should not be taken lightly, no matter where you are.
Home protection should be a priority, and to help you with that, here are some ways to keep your house safe from burglars and have peace of mind.
- Keep your house lit up!
Burglars hate the spotlight, so it’s good to have a motion-sensing outdoor light. A well-lit house indicates that people are at home and will make intruders think twice to break in.
- Don’t flash your boxes from new purchases.
If you made a new purchase for an appliance or gadgets, don’t leave them outside where thieves can be alerted. Try to put them in a bag or at least cover them until it’s picked up.
- Keep the garage door closed.
Keep the garage door closed, especially if it is attached to your home, to avoid unwanted people entering your house. Keeping it closed will also protect your lawn-care equipment, tools, and bicycles. An automatic garage door opener will be good for those who forget to close the garage door. There are a lot of ways to keep your garage door secured.
- Keep valuable things in a safe place.
Statistics show that 34% of burglars enter through the front door. Do not leave valuable things lying around your living room; burglars might enter at the front door while you’re out throwing the trash, carrying the groceries, or checking the mail. It will give burglars easy access and a chance to steal what they can easily pick up.
- Have Security Cameras installed
Installing security cameras at home is essential, especially on entry points, to quickly capture anyone entering the premises. Captured images by the camera can serve as evidence that you can pass to the authorities to help them catch these thieves. It will also give you peace of mind that your house is safe by just simply checking your monitor and not having to walk around the house anymore.
- Upgrade your Doors and Locks
Metal or solid wood doors would be more challenging for burglars to kick-open. It’s no longer secured to have hollow-core doors. It’s also good to install a deadbolt that has at least an inch for the bolt length.
- Install innovative products for security
Upgrading your house to be a smart-home for security purposes doesn’t always have to be expensive; there are now affordable security-enhancing products that you can buy. Examples would be lighting up your porch automatically at specific times using smart light bulbs. You can also consider installing smart door locks that you can open remotely and even decide only to give access to authorized personnel.
- Protect your Windows
Installing window wedge locks on double-hung windows will stop burglars from entering your window. These window stoppers will not only protect your home from burglars but also make your window kid safe.
- Have a Security System installed
A home with a security system is unlikely to be broken into by burglars. Thieves will be discouraged by just seeing the displayed home-security sign. If you have home security installed, burglars will be scared away by alarms, and your security company or even the police will be alerted.
- Security Signs should be Generic.
Intruders can be scared away even by fake security system warning signs. It would still be best to make the warning signs generic and not include any company names, so they will not be able to look it up just to confirm if it’s true or not.
- Keep security camera wires covered.
If burglars were not scared of your security signs and still tried to enter, they most likely have a plan on cutting the wires of your security cameras. In this case, make sure that all cables are covered. Concealing outer electrical wires will make it difficult for intruders to find or cut through.
- Keep car keys closer to you.
Make your car keys within your reach, avoid putting them close to your way out of the house. You can put them on your bedside table, so if you hear or feel that an intruder is in your garage, you can quickly hit on the key fob to scare them off with your car alarm.
- Get a Fake Dog
Simply displaying the “Beware of Dogs” sign, plus dog food bowls as props will already be an excellent way to scare away burglars or intruders.
- Keep your mailbox empty.
Burglars seeing uncollected mail in your mailbox is an obvious alert that nobody is home. Just in case you’re going on a vacation, you can have your trusted neighbor collect it or have your post office hold your mail for you.
- Don’t Overshare too many details on Social Media
Sharing or posting about your vacation plans on social media is a typical security mistake. It’s like announcing to burglars that nobody is home. It would be best for you to post once you’re already home.
If you are looking for some articles on Home Inspections, you might find How Many People Should Be on a Home Inspection? and Why Get a Pre-Listing Home Inspection? interesting.