Holiday Home Safety Tips
Donny Piwowarski
In the heavily competitive real estate market, an agent has to work hard to find ways to differentiate himself from the competition...
In the heavily competitive real estate market, an agent has to work hard to find ways to differentiate himself from the competition...
1. Keep Your Travel Plans Offline
If you are planning to travel during the holiday season be sure to keep your travel plans off your social media. Never post where you are going, when you are leaving, or when you will be back. This is prime information for a thief because he will know when your house is empty.
2. Notify A Neighbor
If you are planning to go out of town during the holiday season, be sure to notify your neighbor. Ask your neighbor to keep an eye on your house while you're away. Also ask your neighbor to pick up any newspapers, flyers, etc when you are gone.
3. Lock Your Side Gates
Don't give thieves unrestricted access to the back of your home. Most thefts go undetected when thieves have access to your backyard. If you have your pool serviced or have a gardener that needs access to your backyard, you can purchase combination locks for your side gates in which you can share the code with them.
4. Add motion security activated cameras
Don't spend thousands on home security cameras and installation. You can purchase cameras from Netgear or Blink XT which are easy to install, run off of batteries, and are wireless. These cameras will notify you whenever motion is detected and also work well at night.
5. Automate Your Lights
Fool anyone who is watching your home into thinking there's someone present. You can replace your light switches with smart switches and use a smart hub such as Amazon Alexa, Google Hub, or the inexpensive Wink hub. These devices not only automate and control your lights but you can also connect other smart devices.
