Top Home Security Advice–How to Keep Your Home and Belongings Safe

Published by julia | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Real Estate, Shout Outs, Uncategorized

One of the top concerns of homeowners is home security. No one wants to be the victim of a burglary. So, if you have your doubts about how safe your home is, you should consider some top home security advice and reinforce your home to protect you, your family, and your belongings from theft.

First of all, be aware that the majority of burglaries occur during the day, when people are at work and school. The summer has the most daytime burglaries, probably because many of the bored teenagers who do things like this are out of school. Winter months have the fewest break-ins.

Thieves are usually men under the age of 25. They want to get in and out of your home as quickly as possible and steal small things that are easy to carry and that have a large re-sale value on the street or in pawn shops. This means that jewelry, computers, CDs, cash, and guns are all favorite things to steal. A thief can easily carry these things out of your home in a backpack and be in and out in no time.

Thieves want easy targets, as well, so make your house unattractive to them by making it difficult to enter. Make sure all points of entry are exposed clearly, without any bushy overgrowth or other objects obscuring them. Use a high quality deadbolt lock and a dead-latch that prevents a credit card from being used to open the door. Grade One and Grade Two locks are best for doors on the outside of the house, as they are the most resistant to the typical break in tools of hammering, prying, and kicking.

Next, never leave extra keys outside of your house. Thieves know this is a common practice and will look under door mats, in plant pots, above door frames, and even inside cars to find extra keys. This is a good reason to always keep your car doors locked if you keep extra keys inside them, even if the cars are in a locked garage, as garage doors are easy to break into. Finally, discourage burglars by buying solid metal doors, as these are nearly impossible to kick in and will keep you safe.