Home Security During Your Vacation

We all want our homes to be secure and are ready to follow all the necessary steps to increase the security of our homes. However, before you install any security improvements and security systems, you need to understand what factors cause the most dangers to the security of your home. The burglar will try to break into the houses that he believes are less protected then others. The most dangerous situation is the case when the burglar believes that the house is empty or the owner of the house is gone fore a long time. In that case the burglar thinks that he has more chances to succeed in the burglary attempt and that there will be a lot less obstacles preventing him from breaking in or disturbing him in the process.

All said above means that the time when you are away from your home for an extended period of time is the most dangerous time for the security of your house. If you decide to go on a vacation (or a long work trip), you will need to face this fact and to take the adequate security measures to protect your home from a possible break in attempt. There are several steps that you can follow to make your house look like it is occupied and to reduce the chances that it will be robbed. You will have many options on which steps to take but it is a good advice to follow all the possible preventive measures.

The first step is to make sure that there are no traces outside of the house that scream out that the owner in not at home. For example, you will need to make sure that your mail and newspapers don’t pile up in the mailbox or on your door steps. This also applies when you have something delivered to you on a regular basis and left near your door. You will need to talk to your neighbors, friends or relatives and ask them to pick up your mail, newspapers and delivered items on a daily basis. You can also stop by your post office and ask that your mail is placed on hold in the post office.

If your neighbors have a car, you should ask them to park it in your driveway or by your house. If you are leaving during the winter time, ask someone to walk in your driveway and near your door to leave footprints. This will give an impression that someone is at home.

The next step is to make sure that your house looks occupied from the inside. You should talk to your neighbors and ask them to stop by your house in the evening and turn on a few lights and possibly a TV. You can also install a specific security system that will automatically turn your lights and house appliances on and off a specific preset times. You should make sure that you draw the curtains for all of your windows. The above security techniques will give an impression that someone is inside and will stop a burglar from his planned break in attempt. Alternatively you can hire a house sitter for the time that you are away from home.

In addition to the steps above you should ask your neighbors to look after your house and notify you and the local police department if something does not seem right. Provide them with your emergency contact information so they can reach you in a case of some type of an accident. Make sure you close and lock all your windows and doors. Your phone answer machine should not say that you are away from your home for a long time.

The alarm system should be on when you are gone. If you have an alarm monitoring service, notify your security company that you will be on vacation and whether someone will be staying at your house when you are gone. You should also collect all your most valued assets and store them in the safe deposit box in your bank before you leave. If this is not possible, store you valuables in the safe. These are just a few possible security steps from a list of many available.