Vacation should be a time of rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, since many burglars plan their next strike to coincide with a homeowner’s vacation time, returning home from vacation-and finding your house robbed of its possessions-can bring all that stress right back to you.
What are some safetyplans to keep in mind before you go out? First, arrange for your mail and newspaper delivery to be halted. A burglar’s first clue that you’re not home is the evidence of unopened mail. Next, ask a friend or neighbor to park in your drive way and use your trash cans. This will be a good way to hide the absence of your own vehicle and your suspiciously clean exterior. Finally, if you will be leaving town for a long period of time, it may be a good idea to have your grass mowed.
Who usually robs a person’s house while they are away? There is no sure way to know. It could be a random person who drives by empty-looking houses at all hours of the night, or it could even be someone you know. Therefore, try to be cautious about informing many different people of your vacation plans. Before you know it, a friend of a friend may tell an untrustworthy associate and you may open your house up to burglary. The main thing to keep in mind the entire time you’re preparing your house before a business or work-related travel experience is that your home is far more likely to be robbed if you’re out of town, because robbers prefer to strike a residence when they can rest assured that no one is there. So that the best way to minimize any sort of robbing is to simply make it appear as though there are people in your home while you are actually elsewhere.
One of the most effective things you can do to increase the security of your home while you’re out on the road is to leave lights on, both inside and outside of your home. The absolute ideal step is to actually go ahead and invest in a timer that can be set for interior or exterior lights, so that the same exact lights aren’t on for a week or two weeks in a row.
However, the most important precaution you can take is to install a home security system. When you install a home security system such as Protect America, you are eliminating the risks commonly associated with homemade security ideas. You are putting the responsibility in the hands of a company. The company’s live monitoring service will be providing an automatic response system by way of highly developed sensors. This means that as soon as an emergency situation is signaled (whether that be a robbery, a fire or a freeze warning) the company is in contact with the homeowner and arranging for local authorities to investigate the matter.
Another advantage to consider is that of a key chain remote control. Usually, homeowners communicate with the company by way of a two-voice intercom. The company will first attempt to contact you in the event of an emergency, giving you a secret code to respond to. However, what if this option isn’t available? For example, what if a homeowner was being held captive inside his or her own home or immobilized for some other reason? This manual panic feature, with the ability to arm or disarm a system, can be very valuable. This feature will also give a house guest some peace of mind while you’re on vacation. The last thing a guest staying in your home wants is a sounding alarm system that cannot be shut off!
And before traveling and leaving your valuables unattended, make sure that you work with a company you can trust.