Leaving on vacation this summer?
Make sure your home is secure while you are on vacation with these tips from Coldwell Banker and CARFAX’s Mark Gittelman.
We’ve all experienced those unsettling thoughts a couple of hours into our vacation when we wonder if we locked all the windows and doors. Worse than that is coming home from a fantastic trip and finding out that your home was broken into. In addition to locking up, learn the home’s most vulnerable entry points, and take steps to harden those soft targets.
A large percentage of homes have sliding glass doors facing the backyard. This affords would-be felons the privacy they desire as they work on opening this entrance. Often they gain entry by prying upward on the sliding door to disengage it from the track. Your local home improvement center will offer several solutions to this problem. However, sometimes it’s as simple as sliding the right-sized piece of wood, metal pipe or broom handle above the sliding door to prevent the upward movement needed to gain entry.- I’m a strong believer in a full-time home security system with a contracted monitoring service. Nevertheless, this type of commitment isn’t right for everyone. With the evolution of the smartphone, some really interesting no-contract security devices have entered the marketplace. Most of these are self-monitored through downloadable apps. Basic systems come in at around $200 and can provide peace of mind without the long-term commitment.
- Laying out a little more cash will give you additional sensor coverage and advanced features that can allow you to turn on and off the interior lights. This makes it appear that someone is home and moving from room to room. In addition, these more-advanced systems can notify friends and neighbors when trouble arises, while you’re busy riding a roller coaster at Wally World. The nice part about these no-contract systems is when you return home, you can stop paying for it without penalty.
- Ask a neighbor to keep an eye on your home and collect your mail and any delivered packages, so it’s not obvious to others that no one is home.
- Finally, for your home’s security, wait until the adventure is over to post those vacation pictures on social media.
