Keeping You & Your Home Safe in Today’s World

When times are tough and the economy is bad, crime rates skyrocket.  Locking your doors and shutting your windows just isn’t enough to keep you and your home safe from intruders anymore.  Burglaries are on the rise and there doesn’t seem to be a slow down on the horizon.  Therefore, we must do everything we can to protect ourselves, our families and our homes.

When we think of burglars, we think of bad people sneaking around in the middle of the night trying to pry open windows.  However, the fact is burglars are now breaking into homes in broad daylight as well as all hours of the night.  The first place they try is the front door.  The front door is usually the weakest area of the home.  It can usually be kicked in within just two swift kicks.

To help prevent this, homeowners should buy a good solid door with a strong dead bolt.  A one inch dead bolt is a good length.  To ensure that everything is working well together, make sure you have a good strike plate too.  Test the door once it is installed.  There should be no wiggling going on.

Now your windows will be the next vulnerable area that will need extra security.  Windows need to have two locks on each window.  Vinyl windows come standard this way.  Older wood frame windows usually have just one lock.  If your home has just one lock, you can cut an old broom handle or a piece of wood and place it between the top of the window and the lock.  You may also want to look into upgrading your windows. 

You want to make it as hard to get in as possible.  The longer it will take a burglar to get in, the less likely he will keep trying.

Other ways to keep you and your family safe from criminals include adding high privacy fences around your home to prevent anyone from easily jumping it, keeping your bushes low so neighbors can have a clear view of your home and never leave your garage door open, not even a crack for your animals.

The best way to feel safe in your home is to have a security system installed.  Just about every homeowner’s insurance company will give you a reduction on your homeowner’s policy for adding the system.

There’s nothing like feeling safe in your own home.  I hope these tips and advice help you make the most of your home’s security.

Realtor® Robert Leighton  ~  West Hollywood Real Estate