July 2007

Keeping Your Home Safe While on Vacation

Here we are, approaching another 4th of July.  For many, that means packing up and heading out on the family vacation.

A lot of planning goes into making a great vacation, but be sure to consider the safety of your home while you’re away and create an action plan to keep your home and belongings safe.

Some people prey on homes when they know the owners are out of town or on vacation.  There are certain steps you need to take before leaving to make the house look like someone is there at all times.  Like the old saying goes, “If there is bait, the fish will grab.”  You can relate this saying to the way burglars think.  Don’t leave out any bait that would tempt a burglar.

There are several things potential burglars pay close attention to at your home. Daily newspapers piling up in the driveway, a continuous dark house, and no cars in the driveway are just a few things that they look for. Your job is to make sure you put a plan of action into place before leaving your house.

Here are five tips to make sure your house is safe:

1) Temporarily cancel newspaper subscription - Most newspapers let you contact them and put a hold on your subscription until you get back. This allows for credits for the days you are gone and the newspapers are not just piling up and going to waste. Another idea is letting your neighbor or someone in neighborhood to get your daily newspapers.

2) Daily Mail - Make sure someone is checking your mail each day in case you have some important documents coming and also the mail is not piling up in your mail box. If someone sees the mail is overloading, they will automatically know you are not at home.

3) Cars in the Driveway - Never have all vehicles completely gone out of the driveway.  Leave your spouse's car or borrow another family member's car to leave in the driveway and arrange for the vehicle to moved and repositioned while you’re away.  This way the driveway is not a complete ghost town.

4) Lights on in the house - Set up specific lights in the house on a daily timer to come on each evening.  You do not want to leave your house continuously dark the entire time you’re out of town.  This is a number one giveaway to potential home break-ins. And if possible, get timers that allow you to vary the on-off times.  Burglars can figure out in about two days if your lights come on at the exact same time each evening.

5) Have someone check daily - Request that a close friend or neighbor checks on your house daily. They can go through the house and check around to make sure there is no harm done to the house. Also if you have any pets, they will be able to feed and water the pets while they are checking on the house.

Safeguarding your home and belongings should be high on your priority list at all times, but even more so when you’re going to be away for any length of time.

Implementing these strategies doesn’t guarantee your home won’t be broken into while you’re away, but it does greatly reduce your chances of a break-in.  If you’re going away on a vacation or out of town for an extended period of time, the extra peace of mind knowing that your home is being taken care of is well worth the time put into initiating this type of plan.

Armed with the right tips on buying a home can make or break your purchase of a new home. Ironing out all of the major, as well as insignificant details before house hunting will help make buying a home a much easier process.