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Protecting your Home | Security Considerations.

By
Real Estate Agent with Sharon Paxson, Realtor® EQTY Forbes Global Properties 01501912

The following are some considerations for protecting your home whether or not you lease a property, or you are the owner. There are some who watch for signs that a property has been left, or when people go on vacation.

1. If you are posting you vacation on social media sites, you might want to wait until you come home, or have someone staying in your property in your absence. Otherwise you might be alerting others that your property is vacant.

2. Review your home owner's insurance policy, and determine what is covered.

3. If you lease your property, make sure you have renters insurance to cover the contents.

4. Neighborhood watch programs are really important and if your neighborhood does not have one, you can establish one in your area. Also, let neighbors know if you are leaving. You can also call the Police or local law enforcement and let them know you are out of the area, and ask if they would patrol the area.

5. Motion-detector lights are an easy and inexpensive addition that turn on automatically when someone walks by.

6. Automatic timers controlling your lights are another easy and inexpensive addition.

7. If you have a key pad with for your garage, be sure to change the code on a regular basis. And it is probably best not to give it out to too many people!

8. Take an inventory of your possessions, and you can photograph them or video them. And store it in a place where you can easily access such as dropbox.

9. If you are going away for an extended time frame, be sure to turn turn off mail, newspapers (if you still receive any), and bottled water delivery.

Try to avoid signs that you are gone and your house is vacant.

Posted by

Sharon Paxson REALTOR®
EQTY Forbes Global Properties
949.280.0681

DRE 01501912

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments(24)

Broker Patty Da Silva Da Silva
Green Realty Properties® - 954-667-7253 - Cooper City, FL
Top Listing Broker

Thank you for these tips Sharon :) Well written :) I agree!

May 27, 2015 03:12 AM
John Meussner
Mortgages in AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, IN, MD, MN, MT, NC, NJ, NV, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WI - Fair Oaks, CA
#MortgageMadeEasy Fair Oaks, CA 484-680-4852

Great info here to deter thieves and rest easy while away on vacation.

May 27, 2015 04:45 AM
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

Before my last vacation Sharon Paxson I picked up an inexpensive home monitoring device. It was fun to check every once in a while to see if their were any intruders. Thank God there was not.

May 27, 2015 05:17 AM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Great advice Sharon and very timely as many families are planning and to my dismay, announcing their vacation dates on social media. You can never be careful enough.

May 27, 2015 05:50 AM
Robert Bob Gilbert
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Anderson Properties - Katy, TX
Your Katy TX ( West of Houston) Real Estate Expert

Sharon, excellent advice especially with the vacation season already in full swing. many secuirity systems have the ability to control lights and you can access through cell, lap top or tablet. 

May 27, 2015 06:02 AM
Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert
Richmond, TX

Sharon,

 Good advice! Usually people are here when we are gone! I too adviced my buyers to start a neighborhood watch program they wanted us to provide security on our dime of course LOL!

May 27, 2015 11:12 AM
Faith LaRosse
Springer Realty Group - Limerick, PA
Serving Berks, Chester & Montgomery Counties

Excellent information Sharon.  We all could use a reminder on these issues from time to time.  Unfortunately, there are people out there that spend their time "out-thinking" the average homeowner.  It is vital that we all stay vigilant on issues regarding security.   

May 27, 2015 08:57 PM
Amanda S. Davidson
Amanda Davidson Real Estate Group Brokered By Real - Alexandria, VA
Alexandria Virginia Homes For Sale

Sharon, this is so well written and a great post. Homeowners needs to stay on top of keeping their homes safe, one can never be too careful.

May 28, 2015 06:48 AM
Brad Thomsen
Big Bear Realty - Edmonds, WA
Real Estate Services

 

Fluffy platitudes about safety remind me of what Benjamin Franklin said long ago;

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

As children learn in grade school, leave your stuff unattended and there is a good chance it won't be there when you get back.

Wishing for the best is not a particularly reliable strategy.

Happy Selling!

May 28, 2015 07:24 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Sharon

Thanks for sharing a comprehensive check list for protecting your home.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

May 28, 2015 07:33 AM
Joe Petrowsky
Mortgage Consultant, Right Trac Financial Group, Inc. NMLS # 2709 - Manchester, CT
Your Mortgage Consultant for Life

Very good advice, especial for this time of year. Every homeowner should pay attention to this post.

May 29, 2015 06:35 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

I am in the process of some upgraded security of cameras and locks at my office and house.  So not only can I know if someone goes in the door, I can see who it is.  And I do get a house sitter when we're away.

May 29, 2015 11:20 AM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

Nice post Sharon and so many things many will not think about. I smiled thinking about the garage keycode. We have a hard time remembering the code ourselves so we would never remember to change it often.

May 29, 2015 12:26 PM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Sharon - i think that it is very important to follow all of your recommendations.  We today's technology people can get sloppy.

May 29, 2015 01:16 PM
Hannah Williams
HomeStarr Realty - Philadelphia, PA
Expertise NE Philadelphia & Bucks 215-820-3376

Sharon Paxson  Great list of precautions and safety tips

Jun 01, 2015 12:34 AM
Yolanda Cordova-Gilbert
Richmond, TX

Sharon,

 Just stopped by to say hello I know everything is ok becaues of FB but we miss you in the rain!

Jun 12, 2015 09:43 AM
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

Sharon Paxson,  I thought I'd drop by and check on you.  Hope you are having a great summer.

Jun 21, 2015 07:05 AM
Lou Ludwig
Ludwig & Associates - Boca Raton, FL
Designations Earned CRB, CRS, CIPS, GRI, SRES, TRC

Sharon

We have to think about our homes safety . . . .

Great post.

Good luck and success.

Lou Ludwig

Jun 22, 2015 11:36 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

Sharon, this is common sense but what we all forget sometimes! It prompts me to want to write a similar post for Fishhawk Lake, as it's a question that comes up now and then when showing property (we have a Neighbor Watch program).

Thank you!

Jul 05, 2015 11:26 PM
Larry Brewer - Benchmark Realty llc
Benchmark Realty LLc - Nashville, TN

I've never had the experience of having my home broken into, but I can only imagine the frustration it would bring. All of these tips are very good, and hopefully will prevent someone from having that bad day.

 I live in a very safe area, and my neighbors would not hesitate to call me if someone was in my home that they didn't know.

 I'm home a lot during the day, but I never answer the door if I don't recognize who it is. They would have a really bad day if they decided that it was safe to break in.

Jul 14, 2015 12:12 AM