Improve the Security for Your Vacation Home

All homes are susceptible to burglaries. However, vacation homes can be especially tempting for many reasons. Burglars know they can count on a vacation home to be vacant for extended periods of time. This time affords them the opportunity to gather all the valuables they want without someone interrupting them.

Vacation homes also tend to be on large pieces of land or in more secluded areas, which cut down the risk of their being seen by neighbors. Even if your vacation home is in a neighborhood, the chances of your neighbor telling you apart from an intruder is much less likely than with your primary residence. You can learn about ways to better secure your vacation home by reviewing the information provided below.

Protect the Exterior of Your Vacation Home

The exterior of your vacation home is the first part people, including burglars, see. Here are some of the things you should do to make the exterior secure:

• Install wrought-iron fencing. Wrought-iron fencing is a good option because burglars won't feel protected behind a solid fence that hides them. Also, wrought-iron fencing is hard to cut through, hard to climb over, and hard to take items past.
• Have safety glass installed. Safety glass costs more than regular residential window glass. However, safety glass is very difficult to break. Therefore, safety glass can end up saving you a lot of money in the long run.
• Get a locking mailbox. When you have a postal office-approved locking mailbox, people won't be able to steal your mail. Also, they can't see how much mail is in the box, which is helpful because a lot of mail indicates you haven't been to the house in a long time.

With these measures, your home will be a less attractive target. Additionally, you will likely face fewer losses if you are robbed.

Protect the Interior of Your Vacation Home

If a burglar does manage to get inside of your vacation home, you want to have other measures put in place to protect the home and your belongings. Here are some of the things you should do to make the interior more secure:

• Record your belongings. Go around your vacation home with a video camera to record all the items in the house. This video can help you give detailed descriptions of all your belongings to the police and your insurance company in the case of a burglary, a fire, or another problem.
• Have a remote-access security system installed. Along with the exterior cameras, you should have some in the home. Have all doors and windows monitored. Keep the monitoring company up-to-date on any changes in contact numbers.
• Have a Wi-Fi doorbell installed. You can install a Wi-Fi doorbell that allows you to see who's ringing and converse with them from your phone. This technology allows you to act as if you are inside the house when in fact you aren't. Since many burglars will ring first, giving the impression that you are nearby can significantly decrease your chances of being burglarized.
• Have solid doors and deadbolts installed. Have a professional locksmith come out to suggest which doors should be replaced and make sure the jams are durable. Have the doors replaced, and have the locksmith install the best-quality deadbolts.
• Have a solid safe installed. Have the locksmith help you choose the best safe for your needs. Also, choose a good place for the safe that's not obvious and may not be found. Have the locksmith brace the safe in a way that makes the safe immobile. Keep anything that is valuable and stays at the vacation home, such as silverware, in the safe.
• Have aftermarket locks installed on sliders. Sliding glass doors can be big weaknesses. Even with safety glass installed, some burglars are good at knowing how to rock the doors off their track. Have the locksmith install extra high-quality locks on the slider for added protection.

With these measures, your home will be better protected inside and out.

If you are ready to take the security of your vacation home to the next level,  contact us  at Southern California Security Centers Inc. We will be happy to walk you through ways you can add extra levels of security and take care of those jobs for you.