Securing Your Home

Moving into a new home is always exciting, but it is just as important to make your house secure as it is to unpack and make it feel like home. There are certain safety precautions we urge you to put in place immediately, and there are others we recommend, but are at your discretion. These precautions are recommended for single-family homes as well as condos and townhomes.

There are nefarious individuals who look specifically for people who have just moved into a new house. Most burglaries occur during the first week of moving, so the four items shown below are of the utmost importance.

Immediate vital safety precautions include:

1. Rekeying all locks. You never know who has a key to your home. This should be your first priority upon moving into your new home. Please let us know if we can recommend a locksmith.
2. Install an alarm system. An alarm system doesn’t have to have a lot of bells and whistles to be a deterrent for most thieves. If you shop around, you can get a reasonably priced service that costs about $300 or so for installation plus monthly service fees. This is something to schedule when you are setting up your utilities and other services since many alarm companies are booked out in advance. Schedule installation for the day after closing at the latest, if at all possible.
3. Have a peephole placed in your front door. A handyman can easily accomplish this with minimal effort. Allowing you to see who is at your door without having to open it, a peephole is a quick and easy safety measure.
4. Secure sliding glass and patios doors. Sliders and patio doors are prime targets for burglars, especially since they have weak locks and can even be lifted off their tracks from the outside. Using jimmy plates, safety bars, and auxiliary locks will make these entry points much more secure. An easy quick fix is to place long wooden dowels in the tracks of each sliding door when not in use.

Other safety measures to consider include:

• Install a doorway reinforcement kit, such as the Door Devil, that defends against having your door kicked in during an attempted burglary.
• Adequately light your yards as well as all exterior doorways. A dusk to dawn light works well to illuminate doorways while motion detectors that turn on outside lights serve as another useful deterrent.
• Install security film on all windows and glass at ground level. This clear film is applied to the inside of the glass and makes it virtually shatter proof.
• Install a Night Lock on back and side doors that get minimal use.
• Protect the contents of your garage by placing security film on all windows and cover windows with blinds to keep burglars from seeing inside.

By taking these security measures, you have made your new home safe and secure for your family. These all help make it more difficult for intruders to get into your home, minimizing your risk for a burglary.

There are just a few remaining items to discuss, including setting up a Google search on your new residence and keeping an eye on your home’s value.