Here is How to Prevent Break-Ins into Your House
Whether you live in a private estate, a block of flats, or on a public street – you must ensure that your home is safe and secure.
One of the worst nightmares that most homeowners have is returning home to see that burglars have broken into their house.
If this thought sounds familiar to you, you might want to incorporate some strategies and contingency plans, including installing home automation systems to keep your house burglar-free.
Here are some simple tips to follow to ensure that your house remains burglar-free.
Hide Your Valuables
Never make the mistake of displaying your valuables. Always hide your valuables from plain sight, including your bicycle and expensive garden tools. Just think about the importance of having a garage and how to use the garage space efficiently to save your valuables.
So many people make the mistake of having the television and living rooms on full display. While we aren’t saying that you shouldn’t use your valuables at home, such as your IPad and laptops – but don’t make the mistake of displaying them openly for the entire world to see.
Here is what you can do to keep your valuables safe – every night before going to bed, you will want to draw the curtains close so that no one from the outside can see what is happening inside the house. If you don’t have a safe, you might want to hide your valuables in other places, such as secret drawers and cupboards, before calling it a day or leaving the house.
Another potential thing to look out for is letterbox fishing – if you haven’t heard about it before, you should know that letterbox fishing refers to the act of someone – a burglar – fishing through your letterbox to catch our car keys or house keys that might have been left on the side table near the front door.
That said, always make sure to move and place your car keys, house keys, and any other keys out of the reach of the letter box. Instead, hang them up or keep them safe in another place.
Change the Locks of the House
A very obvious yet most overlooked way of keeping your home safe from potential burglars is regularly updating your locks – not only the door locks but also the windows locks. By the way, when was the last time you changed your locks?
If you are like most people, this must certainly be long ago. Changing locks is also crucial if you just had a messy breakup. The last thing you would want to happen is a psycho ex-partner creeping into your house in the middle of the night. The same goes for a burglar – you should never underestimate a professional burglar – they surely know how to crack old open locks.
Nonetheless, changing locks is also crucial if you have just bought a new house – you never know who might have access to the house, which is why you can ensure that no one breaks in once you have changed the locks of the house.
Set Your Alarm
This one should be in your routine – every time you leave the house, you must make sure to set your alarm. Make it a habit to set the alarm every time you leave the house or get ready for bed. If you struggle with memory, you might want to set up reminders or leave yourself a note next to the door or wherever you can read it.
You might want to keep setting up reminders until it becomes your habit. However, what is more important is that you must invest in a good alarm system. There is absolutely no point in having a hose alarm system that doesn’t even go off if a burglar breaks into your house.
By opting for an alarm system that is integrated with a video doorbell, you can even take things to another level and make sure that nothing ever goes undetected.
You can also speak directly to anyone approaching the door by having an integrated video doorbell.
Never Let Your Windows Open
Another potential mistake that loads of people make is that they leave their windows open – however, you should never do this. It doesn’t matter how bad your partner is cooking or how smelly the house is; you will want to close the windows at all costs – before leaving the house.
Simply put – always keep the windows shut – no matter what. Another important thing to mention is that you should always cut the branches that might reach your windows and help a burglar climb into your house.
That said, assess the garden and see the condition of the trees and shrubs. If you see that shrubs and trees are providing an easy access point to the windows, you might want to trim them and cut them down.
By leaving the windows open, you will not only provide bugs and pests an entryway to your property but also allow the entire world to peep into your house, which is something to avoid at all costs. Also, you might want to look at open windows from the viewpoint of burglars who see the open windows as an open invitation to intrude into your house and to help themselves to whatever they fancy.
Closing the windows is especially important when you aren’t home – if you need to air your home, your best option is to use air vents. You can also open the windows on their slightly open settings.
Get in Touch with Your Neighbors
If you want to keep your house safe from burglars, you might want to get in touch with your neighbors. This is specifically important if you have just moved into a house – you will want to introduce yourself to your neighbors and get to know them.
This way, your neighbors will know about your schedule and alert you if they suspect anything happening in the house – or if they see someone entering your house at odd times. They will have your back and alert the police department if they see or hear anything suspicious.