Home Protection: Keeping It Safe While You’re Gone
When you are away from home, you don’t want to spend your time worrying about theft or other issues. So, here are some home protection tips to make your time away stress-free.
Friends and Neighbors Make Good Home Protection
Get to know your neighbors and have them keep an eye out on your house. They can take care of pets, get the mail, and do a general check on the house. They should have a key as well as a way to contact you. If you have someone stopping by while you are gone, criminals are less likely to view your home as a target and other issues, like a leaking water pipe, will be found before too much damage occurs.
Lock It Up
Be sure to lock every door and window before leaving your home for an extended period of time. This includes:
- Unplugging your electric garage door so that someone with a universal remote cannot gain access
- Putting a stick in the track of the sliding glass door
- Locking the door between the garage and house
- Locking the deadbolts to doors with windows
If your home protection makes it difficult for a criminal to enter, they are more likely to rob another home.
Spare Keys Are Rarely Hidden
Unless you happen to have the best hiding place in the world, you should remove your spare key before going on vacation. Criminals know where to look for keys and will find yours to get inside your home. It is better to leave a key with your neighbor than under the mat.
Don’t Close Your Curtains
Many people assume that a good home protection tip is to close their curtains to hide the fact that no one is home. However, if your curtains are closed, anybody could be inside and your neighbors would never know. Plus, very few people leave their windows curtained during the day. If your home has the curtains drawn, it will be a sign for criminals that no one is home. Basically, you should leave your curtains the same way you do every day.
Use a Timer for Lights
Keeping a light lit all day and night is another sign letting people know that you are not home. It is better to put some timers on lights so that they switch on and off throughout the evening.
What to Stop and What to Continue
Another good home protection tip is to know what to stop and what to continue. You should stop having your mail and newspaper delivered unless you have someone who will get it for you every day. On the other hand, you should continue to have your lawn mowed, leaves raked, or snow plowed. The point is to make your home look lived in.
Watch What You Say On Social Media
Sure, it is fun to post your vacation pictures online, but it is probably not a good idea to post that you are gone until you are back! If you announce that you will be gone for a week, then everyone knows that your house will be empty.
In addition to watching your social media, be sure not to:
- Leave an answering machine message stating you are gone
- Having an automatic email response stating you are gone
Keep the Heat or Air On
Although you don’t need to keep your home as warm or cool as if you are there, you should not turn your HVAC unit completely off. In the summer, this will keep your home from developing condensation from the humidity. In the winter, it could keep your pipes from freezing.
Your home is a big investment. Following these home protection tips will help you keep it safe even when you are not at home. If you are interested in becoming a homeowner, feel free to contact us. We’d love to help you find your dream home.