In general, there's no need to worry and think your home is a constant target for robbers and home invaders. Crooks tend to look for easy money, and many people forget to take simple precautions to make their homes less appetizing to thieves. With just a few simple alterations and adjustments, you can create an aura around your home that tells criminals, “Go away!” Here's how to keep your home safe and secure.
Load and Lock
One of the best deterrents to a thief is a locked door. Broken windows and busted doors are a great way to alert neighbors and patrolling police to a break-in. Make a habit of locking up whenever you leave and before you go to bed—that includes window latches. If you've just moved into a new home, have all the outdoor locks changed. Even if the previous owners left behind all the keys, extra keys might still be floating around out there. Invest in deadbolts as well, especially on basement and side doors that can't be observed from the street. Finally, don't keep your garage door opener in your unlocked car—that's an invitation to any crook.
Get an Alarm or Fake It
Install a home alarm system. When the noise and lights go off, most crooks will make the smart decision and leave. If you don't have the means to install such a system, placing a sign outside and prominently displaying stickers on the windows stating that an alarm is in operation can dissuade most thieves from taking a chance. As an added measure, you can install affordable webcams and security cameras around the house that can capture criminals' images the minute they breach your property line and send them to your computer. We suggest you keep the cameras somewhere noticeable but hard to reach.
Check the Window Wells
Window wells are there to let sunshine into your basement and provide a means of escape in case of an emergency. Unfortunately, that also makes them a prime entry point for burglars. Lock your basement windows, and if your window well cover has a latch on the inside, keep it latched. Perform regular maintenance around the window well and don't allow plants or bushes to cover the area, as that will only provide cover to crooks. Window wells are also a good place to focus outdoor lights during the wee hours of the night and morning.
Neighborhood Watch
When deciding how to keep your home safe and secure, don't forget that your neighbors have the same concerns. Form a neighborhood watch and look out for one another's houses. When you go on vacation, let the neighbors know, and reciprocate when they do the same so that you can “mind the store,” so to speak, while they are out. Neighborhood watches aren't vigilante groups, incidentally. Just be aware and take care of your respective properties!
Bo Kauffmann is a residential real estate agent with over 18 yrs experience in helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Inducted into the REMAX Hall of Fame in 2010 and receiving the REMAX Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Bo has sold over 500 houses and condos in the Greater Winnipeg market. He is an accredited buyer representative (A.B.R.) and a Luxury Home Marketing Specialist. Bo provides exceptional service to First-Time Home-Buyers, Seniors looking to downsize and Home Sellers of all ages. He can be reached easily By E-Mail or call/text him Call/Text Here Our Latest Web-Stories Never miss an episode of our real estate podcast. Install our FREE Podcast App available on iOS and Android. For your Apple Devices, click here to install our iOS App. For your Android Devices, click here to install our Android App. Check my videos on Youtube
To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
