Tag Archives: Home Security Tips

DIY Home Security Tips & Tricks to Burglar-Proof Your Home

DIY Home Security Tips Tricks To Burglar-Proof Home - Locksmith Sarasota

Halloween is only a few weeks away, and it’s important to take time to safeguard your home before the holiday season is in full swing. Burglaries and home thefts are more prevalent during the holiday season, and preparing ahead of time can minimize the chances of your home becoming a target.

Prevent Your Home from Being a Target for Burglaries

Most burglars take time to “case” homes before striking. “Casing” refers to watching target homes to see what kind of security the homeowners have, what times the house is empty, and other variables. Burglars will look for the least secure homes that offer the greatest chance of success.

What Burglars Tend to Assess on a Home

Burglars Prefer Homes That Are Covered By Foliage - Locksmith SarasotaSome of the things most burglars look for while casing includes:

  • Home security: More often than not, having a home security placard on your lawn, or visible security cameras on your property, is enough to deter most burglars from even bothering with your home. Roughly 90 percent of convicted burglars report they would avoid a home that has an alarm system.
  • Homeowner presence: Vacations and long-term travel are when your home is most vulnerable. Burglars will look for piled-up newspapers and overgrown lawns to indicate which homes have been empty the longest.
  • Cover: Burglars tend to avoid homes with lots of open, visible space around them. They prefer homes surrounded by lots of foliage that can offer cover while moving around the home to allow them to hide from prying neighbors’ eyes.
  • Dogs: A burglar typically will not try to enter a home with a barking dog inside. If you own a dog that stays home while you’re at work, your pet may be a better security asset than you ever realized. Dogs will also alert their owners to intruders who attempt to enter at night.

With these tips in mind, there are a few affordable and effective steps homeowners can take to improve their home security:

Fake It If You Need To

If you don’t own an alarm system or security cameras, you can still trick would-be burglars into thinking you do. Consider placing a fake alarm system placard in front of your home if a real alarm or security system isn’t in your budget. Some burglars will write off your house immediately. This trick probably won’t work on more experienced, tech-savvy burglars, though.

Start Small with Security Devices

You can purchase a simple home security camera system at relatively low cost. Do some research into the most reliable and affordable brands and look for tips on where and how to your cameras. It’s important for your cameras to be somewhat visible, so would-be burglars notice them, but you also need to place them in spots that offer wide fields of view.

Keep the previous tip in mind if a security camera isn’t in your budget. A fake camera may serve as a somewhat reliable alternative to a real one for some houses.

Secure Your Yard

Some thieves won’t bother trying to enter your home and will instead steal items from your yard, porch or garden. If you plan on taking a long trip, bring these items into your garage or another storage area while you’re away. Refrain from leaving gardening tools or items like ladders outside that a burglar could potentially use to gain entry to your home.

Light Timers

You can purchase timers for your outdoor lights, and may even want to consider putting some indoor lights on timers, especially if you plan on taking a long vacation. Light timers will automatically turn your home’s lights on and off at specific times. This can make it appear as though you are home while you’re away, thus making your home less of a target.

Secure Deliveries

Many thieves follow delivery trucks around to look for packages to steal in the weeks leading up to the winter holidays. Millions of people have their packages stolen each year in the U.S.

You can opt for sign-on-delivery security for some packages. For expensive items, it may be best to arrange delivery to your local post office so you can pick them up securely.

Invest in Your Home’s Safety

Consider investing in a more reliable security system this holiday season. Locksmith Sarasota offers a variety of state-of-the-art and affordable home security options, including high-security door locks, alarm systems and much more.

When you inquire about our home security lock services, we’ll review your home’s vulnerabilities and help you choose the right security equipment to protect your home and loved ones, where and when you need it most.

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How to Enhance the Security of Your Rental Home

Enhance the Security of Your Rental Home - Locksmith SarasotaRenting out a property can be a great way to supplement your income and start seeing a return on your investment. The decision to become a landlord, however, should not be made without serious consideration. One wrong move could not only impact your rental property, but the rest of your financial portfolio as well.

When it comes to rental home security, ensuring the safety of your property is a major challenge. It’s essential that you explore your options and legal obligations, then prepare accordingly. Thankfully, there are several ways that you can ensure both the physical and financial security of any property you own.

Install Security Doors and Locks

Why Would You Rent Out Your Home Without Doing Research - Locksmith SarasotaPhysical vulnerabilities can quickly be addressed and should be the first priority. Once the word gets out that you’re renting an unoccupied property, it’s only a matter of time before unscrupulous individuals take notice. Strong doors and locks are a basic and necessary part of rental home security.

Key tips:

  • Hollow wooden doors and doors with windows are easy enough for an intruder to overcome. Ideally, entrance doors should be constructed out of metal or solid wood without windows.
  • Using a dual cylinder deadbolt lock prevents a would-be intruder from making a hole in the door or a nearby window and opening the lock from the inside. A dual cylinder lock is designed to require a key turn on both sides of the lock, as opposed to using a latch on the inside.

Install Outdoor Lighting

Thieves and vandals prefer to do their dirty work in the dark. The presence of outside light around your property is a strong deterrent for anyone who might threaten your property.

Key tip:

  • Choose long-lasting lights, such as LED lights, that require minimal maintenance. They should be installed on all sides of the property and activate automatically using a timer, light-activated sensors or motion sensors.

Know the Law

Keeping the rental home safe from physical threats is challenging by itself. Ensuring legal and financial security adds new wrinkles to the problem, but this task is just as vital.

Remember that laws regarding rental property vary greatly from one place to another, and ignorance is not an excuse. If your rental agreement terms and conditions are unenforceable, for example, you may face serious legal and financial consequences.

Key tips:

  • Do your research. If necessary, consult a local attorney who is familiar with the rights and responsibility of a landlord in the area.
  • Whether you are renting your property to long-term tenants or accommodating short-term tenants, it is very important that all of your agreements and terms are in writing. A bit of paperwork will go a long way toward protecting your property if something goes wrong.

Insure Your Rental Property

One of the worst things that can happen as a landlord is that a tenant gets hurt, damages your property or damages your neighbor’s property. Despite your best intentions and precautions, you may still be sued. That’s why liability insurance is an important part of rental home security.

Key tip:

  • Don’t underestimate how much protection you’ll need in terms of liability. The hard number will vary wildly based on your property, location and tenants. You may need more than the standard $1 million limit.

There’s nothing more important than keeping your home and your family safe from harm. Need more tips on protecting your home from intruders? The pros at Locksmith Sarasota are happy to share industry knowledge and top safety strategies with homeowners. Explore our site for more expert advice about locksmith services.

Locked And Secure: A Complete Home Security Checklist

Locked And Secure: A Complete Home Security ChecklistMany people don’t think they need security systems. They may assume security systems are too expensive and a waste of money, especially if they live in a smaller city or town. However, residents of these areas are not immune to break-ins.

At Locksmith Sarasota, we don’t simply provide locks. We seek to protect our clients any way possible, so we encourage them to invest in security systems before a break-in occurs. We have all the tools you need to ensure your home is a safe place.

What Homeowners Need To Know About Burglaries

The more you know about how burglars operate, the easier avoiding them will be. When most people hear “burglar,” they think of a stealthy thief dressed in black, breaking into their homes in the middle of the night. In reality, most burglaries happen between 10 AM and 3 PM, when most people are at work or school.

Additionally, burglars are not always strangers. You may have seen a potential burglar in your neighborhood, or talked to that person casually. Some of them get to know potential targets and their daily routines.

Be Careful What You Post Online

Social media has made break-ins easier than ever. Please be careful what you post on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Vacation photos or trip announcements let burglars know exactly when you’re away. Even if your privacy settings are tight, friends of friends may share your information with someone who’ll use it for a break-in.

Despite what you see on television, most burglars don’t jimmy open windows. An astonishing 34% of them enter by the front door because not all homeowners keep these locked. Another 30% enter using any easily accessible unlocked door or window. A professional burglar can burglarize your house in 10 minutes or less. If your security system isn’t up-to-date, that’s enough time for significant property loss and damage to occur.

Home Security And Police Response

The police are there to ensure safety, which includes tracking down burglars. However, only about 14% of burglaries resulted in arrests in the last two years. Burglaries are some of the hardest crimes to solve, and the chances of recovering your lost property are slim. You should always contact the police in the event of a burglary. However, a home security system prevents burglaries where the police cannot.

Pre-Security System Precautions

Before you install a security system, you should take several precautionary measures. None of your valuables should be visible from the street. When you are not home, keep doors and windows locked and the shades down. Do not keep jewelry boxes, safes, or other containers of valuables open. Do not post passwords or combinations in accessible places.

Home Security Lighting

A lit pathway keeps you safe at night, but may also encourage a burglar. Consider buying automated outside lights you can turn on and off using your phone or other device. When you aren’t home, make sure all the lights are off but keep your porch light, if possible. The porch light illuminates your house number, which helps law enforcement find you quickly.

Give an extra set of keys to someone you trust. When possible, give the keys to someone who lives nearby and can check on your house while you travel. Ask the post office to hold your mail, too. Burglars become suspicious when they see a full mailbox after one or two days.

Your doors should be either wood or metal-clad with keyed deadbolts and secondary locks. Secondary locks are especially important on sliding, deck, attic, or garage doors. These entrances are some of the easiest for burglars to use.

Always keep medications out of sight. Some burglars are also substance abusers and choose homes based on whether they’ll find drugs. Additionally, lock up outdoor valuables, including tools burglars might use to access the rest of your house.

Take personal inventory of your property. Secure your valuables in a safe place. If you leave pets behind, ensure they are in a safe place, too. Your security system should extend to your garage, yard, deck, or wherever else your pet normally stays.

Residential Home Security Basics

Your home security system needs alarms, and these must be tested regularly. Test your alarms at least once every few months. If you travel often, the tests should be more frequent. Keep security codes in your phone, or memorize them if possible. If you must write them down, do so in a notebook you always carry with you. Consider changing codes at least once a year. This way, even if a burglar sees you using one code, there is no guarantee it’s always correct.

A good home security system places your lights and possibly appliances on timers. You need at least two light timers that work in a logical sequence. If desired, set timers for televisions, radios, or computers. These may fool burglars into thinking you’re home. Make sure your security system has floodlights. Burglars don’t want the attention floodlights attract, so the faster your house lights up, the faster a burglar will leave. Check your floodlights regularly.

The garage, pool area, and sheds need manual locks. Don’t rely solely on a garage door opener, especially if that opener doesn’t come with a code. Keep the keys on your person when possible, or in a high, inaccessible location. Never let outdoor locks rust. If you experience a break-in, whether indoors or outdoors, call a locksmith immediately. He or she will change the locks and may help you change codes, too.

Protecting Sensitive Valuables

Most burglars come into homes looking for specific items like computers and televisions. To ensure their protection, inscribe items with legitimate, law enforcement-approved serial numbers. Take photos of these and other valuables. This makes it easier for police to identify and find your valuables if there is a break-in.

Contact Locksmith Sarasota For All Your Home Security Needs

If you live in Sarasota or in the Tampa, FL area, contact us online or by phone about home security systems. Together, we will customize one that fits your needs. Don’t wait until after a break-in. Prepare and protect your home now.