Staying Safe: What You Need To Know About Home Security

Read the following article for some great ways to secure your home.

Any time you buy a new home, have the locks changed. It’s important to know everyone who has a key to your home. Having a locksmith replace the locks will ensure that no strangers have a key. If you lose keys, make sure to do this, too.

TIP! Make sure that you change the locks once you’ve taken possession of the house. You don’t know who might have a key.

Always change the locks changed when you buy a new home. You don’t know the exact number of copies of that key the previous owners have been handed out previously. Do the same thing if you happen to misplace your keys.

Does your dog stay in the yard while you are gone? Your dog is an excellent place to hide your extra key. Put it on the dog’s collar.This is especially useful if your pet does not take kindly to strangers.

Don’t give your keys to a house cleaner unless you totally trust them. Only select service people who are totally trustworthy. Ask for references and check them thoroughly. If the cleaner has been sent by a company, call the Better Business Bureau to check on the company’s reputation.

TIP! Only provide your house cleaner with a key if you trust him or her implicitly. Anyone you give the keys to your home to should be unarguably honest.

It’s important to shop for alarm systems. Make sure to obtain quotes from a minimum of three companies prior to deciding on which one you think is the best option.

The fist thing you’ll need to do is get new locks. Maybe you’ve had a roommate leave or a bitter ex-lover, changing the locks is the best way to keep yourself safe. It is not expensive and you can be done in less than a day.

Do you keep your dog outdoors when you go out? You might consider leaving your spare key with your dog. Put it on their collar. This is especially useful if the dog does not take kindly to strangers.

TIP! Do you let your dog outside when you leave the house? Store the spare key with them. You can attach your key to your dog’s collar in order to keep the key hidden.

Walls can be a great hiding spot for your valuables. You can hide small valuables within your walls.You can use the opening provided by an electrical switch plate or electric outlets as hiding spots. You put in a fake unused in your home.

Most burglars gain entry to a door is left open and an intruder just walks in. It does not take a quick job for a burglar to steal items of dollars.

A good security system has many more features than sounding the alarm during a break-in. They can be programmed to alert the homeowner if a person enters the home. This is important if you have small kids.

Replace all the locks in a new house.Regardless of how trustworthy you consider the last owners to be, you never know someone’s true intentions.

Door Frame

Carefully consider where you hide your outside spare key. Intruders will think to look on the top if a door frame and under a doormat. Hide your alternative key on your dog’s collar.

TIP! A spare key must be carefully hidden and not in the obvious spots that a person might think. Avoid cliched hiding places like over the door frame or beneath the doormat.

Replace rotted wood on your door frame. An intruder could pry the rotten wood and enter your home. Replace the rotting door frame with fresh wood to improve your home’s security.

Flashlights are key because they allow you move around in an emergency. Teach everyone in your home to use flashlights.

Your flooring and roofing should be fire resistant. This can help your home be safer. Keeping fire hazards away is a great safety precaution since fire can cause lots of destruction.

TIP! Fire-resistant building materials are the way to go, both inside and outside the home. These materials will protect your home from both internal fires and the spread of fires that start on other properties.

If the home you are moving into is not brand new, you should change the locks right away. The person who used to live there may still have made some copies of the key. You can purchase locks and install them yourself to ascertain that no one else has a key.

A simple way to achieve extra security is to install exterior lighting equipped with motion detectors. If the lights are positioned correctly on your home, it is very hard for someone to sneak onto the property.

See if your local police department offers any home inspection or other protection programs. They may offer things such as home inspections, engraving tool loans, and other guidance about securing your house. Call the local police department and inquire as to what programs they offer.

TIP! Contact the local police department to find out more about the protection programs they offer. Several in various jurisdictions have programs which entail providing a home inspection, what protective measures will help your home and even how to engrave valuable items to make them easier to recover.

Be sure to read the entire contract when you hire a security firm. There are sometimes fees for terminating the contract early or acquiring additional equipment down the road. You want to avoid as many of these fees as you can, so make sure you are aware of them.

Having your home at night is a great deterrent to crooks. They do not want to avoid being seen. Keep your lights shining brightly at night.

Always have your security system checked each year. Call the company and have them send someone to check it out. The weather and animals are two things that may cause havoc on your home’s security system. Sometimes it is very difficult to see the problem if you don’t know where it is.

TIP! You should regularly check your home security system, regardless of how reliable you believe it is. This should be performed by a technician from your security company.

Although they can be very helpful, they’re not necessarily the cost-effective solution for every home. In some neighborhoods, a class on self defense or a guard dog might be more suitable, while in others, an advanced home security system will fit the bill. Know the risks so that you want and make your decisions based on that.

Never enter your home if you arrive and find the door is open or something doesn’t feel right. This is very dangerous due to the fact that the thief can still be on your property. Call the cops and let them take care of the initial walk through.

Walls are the perfect place to hide. Concealing small valuables in your walls is an easy and highly effective way to protect them. Just take advantage of the phone jack, electrical outlet or unused switch plate. Even if every single plate in your home is being used, you can purchase a fake one purpose-built for concealing valuables.

TIP! Walls are great for hiding things. If you have valuables that are small in size, you may want to hide them within your walls.

There is more to security than installing alarms. There are quite a few options available to you that will help your home be more secure. Keep this advice in mind when attempting to make your house a more secure place.