We all deserve a break now and again, but it can be a worry to leave the family home unattended when the time comes to go on vacation. Unless you have kids, you will leave behind to watch the place you will have this worry; let’s be honest, teenagers are as much of a threat as anything external. And barring accidentally leaving a little kid with the home protection skills of Kevin McAllister of the Home Alone films, we will want to put some measures in place to protect our homes.
Contents
Put Lights on a Timer
Professional criminals will stake out decent neighborhoods, especially during the summer vacation season. You can diminish the chance of your home being tagged as empty if you can make your lights come on at night with a timer. This will give the impression someone has come home each night. It would also be advisable to vary the timings of when the lights come on; this can be achieved if you have smart lightbulbs; these can then be controlled remotely and give the impression of more random light usage. If you are incredibly inventive, you could program a sequence to mimic someone moving through the house, turning lights on and off.
Ensure You Are Insured
Obviously, we are looking at how to avoid problems, but some are unavoidable, so we’d better be certain our insurance is up to date.Imagine there’s a flood, we’d need to contact the insurers as soon as possible. For this reason, it may be wise to have someone check in daily to provide certainty there have been no issues.
Home Security System
A good home alarm system does not only provide evidence of what has happened and the facility of alerting the authorities as soon as it has happened; but also can act as a deterrent if it is clear it is in place. Everyone’s need is different, so it is wise to choose a custom home security package.
Don’t Advertise Your Absence.
So many of us live our lives on social media. For the worst offenders, anyone could know their entire schedules, where they work, when they go to the gym, and worst of all, when planning a vacation. A seemingly innocent comment such as, ‘So excited to go on my well-deserved break’ accompanied with a shot of you at the departure lounge is a criminal’s dream.
Secure Your Valuables
Burglars will always look for an easy job. So don’t give them opportunities to take what is yours easily. If you can ensure your car is parked in the garage, and if you don’t have one and the vehicle is valuable, consider placing it in storage. The same applies to items within the home. Don’t leave valuable items out on display, and for extremely valuable items, consider a safe. What to look for in a safe varies depending on the items you are storing and why? Not everyone knows that a fire safe is not suitable to protect against burglars, and even burglar-proof safes have ratings according to the level of value it will hold.
