Yes, it's that time of year again, the time of year we look forward to for catching up with friends and relatives. And there's a good chance many of us will be hitting the road for a bit.
There are some things close to home you need to watch out for otherwise the holidays might have some memories you don't want to remember.
Watch out on that ladder if you're hanging lights!
The dog thought ALL the presents were for him and opened them all?
I THOUGHT that egg nog smelled kind of funky!
You get the drift, things CAN happen!
Some you can't control, others you can, so I'm going to provide some tips from the CAN category.
In my Navy days we practiced what we called OPSEC (Operational Security). In a nutshell, we didn't want the bad guys to know where we were today, where we're going to be next week, or what we're up to UNLESS we wanted a show of force. The old "loose lips sink ships" adage.
Modern times involves a LOT of sharing via social media.
Don't you wish you could have a bite of what's on my plate right now?
Checking in at the gym! I'm PUMPED!!!
Here's my opinion on the latest news event/political shenanigans. You DO think exactly like me don't you? If not, well just go ahead an unfriend me!!
Sound familiar?
But here's where the OPSEC part comes in.
Be quiet. Zip it. Keep it to yourself. Shut up already!
Not about everything of course, but be mindful of when and where you share your travel plans. If you're a homeowner in Ohio, if I know your name and and it's something besides John Smith, chances are I can find your exact address. So when you post in a group about needing a housesitter, a good kennel to use Christmas week, or some other tidbit about dates and your potential absence, you've just advertised to EVERYONE that can see that post.
So if you're in a Facebook community group of 20,000 people, all 20,000 can now potentially know that 123 Main Street is going to be unattended from December 20th through 27th. Now hopefully there are no bad guys or gals in that group, but Facebook doesn't do criminal background checks and neither do the group admins. So why risk exposing some key operational info regarding your plans?
If you need something, keep the request general and don't include specific dates. You can chat specifics with the person that offers the services. When you're done, consider deleting the post.
And you might want to hold off on posting pics and details of your travel until AFTER you're back home!
And bonus tip, control your garbage. Yes...garbage. Got some super nice gifts for Christmas, that mega sized TV for instance? Be careful how you dispose of the boxes. Break them up and put them inside your trashcan, or bag them in dark bags so no bad guys or gals cruising by after the holidays can be making a checklist of who Santa gave the REALLY good stuff to.
While most of this is unlikely, it's still possible, so protect your home and your family.
Okay, that's enough buzzkill! Now go eat, drink and be merry!
Need a real estate guide? That's what we're here for. Further questions about buying or selling a Cincinnati area home? Call Bill at 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com and we'll determine how we can best help you!
Serving Cincinnati home buyers and sellers,
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
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