An empty home or apartment is
one of the easiest targets available for burglars. In many cases, an
unattended home is a soft target -- meaning, it is not defended well
enough and can be easily broken into.
This happens mainly because the owners / renters are not
sufficiently aware of various aspects of keeping their home secure.
They omit to take simple, sensible precautions that can cut risks of
burglary significantly.
And no, you don't necessarily need all those super-hi-tech gadgets
that are advertised by all those vendors. Yes, they can help, but
they're not essential, at least for most folks. Check out the ideas
and tips below, for a start.
Here are several specific things you can do to ensure your home
stays safe even when you're away.
* The best defense for your home is to have a house sitter. There's
no getting around it. A house where someone's staying is almost
always safer than a house that's empty. See if you can get a trusted
friend or relative to stay at home while you are away.
* Stop your mail delivery and newspaper delivery for the entire time
you're away. An overflowing mailbox or piles of newspaper advertises
that no one's home.
* Similarly, if you keep a garden or have potted plants that are
visible, get someone to come in regularly and maintain them. Wilted
and dying plants are another signal that the house is uninhabited.
* Put lights as well as TV / radio on timers. Put lights on timers
in multiple rooms. Try to create a natural-looking sequence for the
lights. Set the timer to turn on the living room lights at sunset.
Later on, at your regular bedtime, have the timer switch off the
living room lights and turn on the bedroom lights at around the same
time.
If you regularly turn on the TV at 8:00 pm and it remains switched
on till 11:00 pm, set the timer accordingly. Quite often, even if
the lights are on, the absence of the bluish glow from the TV can
give away the fact that no one's really home.
* In addition, ask a neighbor to drop into your house regularly.
Windows being opened and closed, curtains being worked, etc are all
signs that someone's home.
* If you live in a rented house or apartment, you may want to notify
your landlord that you'll be away. In fact, some lease agreements
stipulate that you must inform them if you're going away. At least
some landlords like to keep an eye on an empty house, even if they
don't enter it.
* If you have an alarm system installed, make sure the house sitter
knows how to operate it.
* Make sure you leave your contact details with the house sitter
and/or neighbor. Whoever's checking on the house should know exactly
who to call if there's a problem.
Now that you know some of the things you should be doing before you
head off on vacation, jot them down on a piece of paper and make
sure you check them off before you actually leave.
Even with all the insurance in the world, it's a painful experience
to come back home and discover that it's been emptied of all
valuables. You owe it to yourself to ensure that the chances of that
happening are as low as possible.
