Real Estate NewsWhile You"re Decking the Halls, Make Sure Your Home is Safe
As you trim your tree, hang the lights, and wrap your gifts, you"ll want to
take extra care to make sure your home and belongings are secure this
holiday season.
Aside from the summer months of July and August when families are far from
home on vacation, the holiday season is the most common time of the year for
home burglaries. Burglars are enticed when they see trees lit up from the
street and the thought of all the goodies that lie wrapped beneath. And they
know we tend to be away from home more, socializing and taking care of the
seasonal demands.
A burglar breaks into a house, apartment, or condominium every 11 seconds -
that"s about 2.3 million burglaries a year, according to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
The FBI also says that three out of four houses will be burglarized in the
next four years, and that the average property loss is more than $1,000.
Many experts agree that installing an electronic alarm system is a good
deterrent.
If your home doesn"t have a security system, you have a three times greater
risk that your home will be broken into versus a home with a security
system, according to Simon Hakim, a professor of economics at Temple
University who has also served as a consultant to the Pennsylvania Fire and
Burglar Alarm Association and ADT Security Systems. He has also written more
than 50 academic articles on security and crime.
Further bolstering the effectiveness of burglar alarms, the International
Association of Chiefs of Police passed a board resolution that said that
professionally installed, monitored alarm systems are useful instruments to
deter crime and provide peace of mind for homeowners.
Regardless of whether you have a home alarm system, there are a number of
steps you can take during the holidays to make your home as safe as
possible - many of which can be followed year-round.
Try to place your tree so it is not visible through a window from the
street. Although attractive, it sends a message to would-be burglars.
Don"t place wrapped gifts under the tree. If a thief does break into your
house, that will be the first place pilfered.
Write down serial numbers of any large electronic gifts that may have
them - TVs, home entertainment systems, etc. You may want to mark them with
your driver"s license number, too. You may want to take photos, too.
Make sure all your doors have good locks; at the least dead-bolt with a
minimum one-inch throw. Some 66 percent of all burglaries are by forcible
entry, so the more difficult you make it for the burglar, the more likely
he"ll give up and move to an easier house.
All windows should have window locks.
Secure your sliding glass door.
Always lock the door to your attached garage.
Always make it look like someone is home. Use timers for lights, radios
and TVs. If you have exterior holiday lights, invest in a timer. Otherwise a
dark house with hanging unlit lights is a good indication that nobody is
home.
Even if you don"t have holiday lights, keep the outside of your home well
lighted.
Never let on that you"re on a trip. Ask a neighbor to pick up your
newspapers and mail.
Keep some shades and curtains up so things don"t look suspicious.
Trim your shrubbery near walkways and entrances. Make sure hedges aren"t
large enough to provide cover for a burglar.
Organize a community watch program in your neighborhood.
If you live in an apartment, the National Crime Prevention Council says you
should encourage management to make sure entrances, parking areas, hallways,
stairways, laundry rooms, and other common areas are well lighted, and that
fire stairs are locked from the stairwell side with an appropriate emergency
release mechanism.