{"id":1987,"date":"2020-07-03T10:36:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T14:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beingbobblog.com\/?p=1987"},"modified":"2020-08-11T09:39:04","modified_gmt":"2020-08-11T13:39:04","slug":"securing-your-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/securing-your-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Securing Your Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"securing<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you or any of your friends own a second home? A cabin in the woods or a seaside bungalow near the beach? Perhaps a second property you rent out<\/a>? If so, you\u2019re among 7.5 million<\/a> homeowners across the country. Second home ownership started booming in 2014 and it\u2019s not hard to understand why. It\u2019s great to have a vacation home to escape to, or a rental property to bring in a little extra money. But when you\u2019re not there, it\u2019s hard to know exactly what\u2019s going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To put your mind at ease, here are some tips for keeping your second home safe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give the Police a Heads-up When You\u2019re Away:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Local police want to know when a house is vacant \nso they can show extra care in patrolling the area to look for trouble. \nWhen you\u2019re going to be away from your vacation home, just give the \npolice a quick call and report the dates the property will be empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"befriending<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Befriend Your Neighbors:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve talked in the past about the importance of community<\/a>.\n It\u2019s always a good idea to talk to your neighbors about when your home \nwill be vacant. Ask them to keep a casual eye on the property and shoot \nyou a text or give you a call about anything suspicious. This will work \nto make the whole neighborhood safer, particularly because nearby homes \nbecome more at risk<\/a> after one burglary occurs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, getting to know neighbors can be \ntough in a vacation area. You and your neighbors might only meet a few \ntimes a year. But do your best! Offer to keep an eye on their home too, \nor suggest hiring a local resident together to keep an eye on the whole \nneighborhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make it Look Like Someone\u2019s Home:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the reasons vacant properties are targeted\n by burglars is that they\u2019re, well, vacant. The risk of a burglar \ngetting caught is much lower compared to an occupied home. But nobody \nneeds to know your property is vacant. If you\u2019re able to visit \nfrequently, put some effort into maintaining the yard. Mow the lawn, \nshovel snow, and rake leaves. If you live far away, you can easily hire \nsomeone to take care of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dark home is a dead giveaway for burglars of a \nprime target. Consider timed lights indoors to make it look like someone\n is home. You can also install motion lights outside the home to spook \nanyone who gets too close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also a smart idea to have the locks changed \nafter you buy a place. You don\u2019t know who owned it before you, or how \nmany of the previous tenants kept copies of their keys. While you\u2019re \nthinking about the locks, make sure to check the windows and other \nentrances, like a bulkhead, so as not to give a burglar easy access. You\n could also consider reinforcing any vulnerable windows with bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"protecting<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Install a Home Security System:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A home security system like SimpliSafe<\/a> can provide immense comfort while you\u2019re away. You can be alerted if a door or window is opened<\/a>, or if glass is broken<\/a>.\n Motion Sensors will trigger if anyone (or anything) is moving around \ninside the home. A 105 decibel siren will scare anyone off before they \ncan cause damage, and local police will be on the way to investigate \nand secure the property. You can also monitor your property from your \ncamera, and stay up-to-date with Smart Alerts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A home security system protects your home from \nmore than just burglars. With Smoke, Carbon Monoxide, Water, and Freeze \nSensors, you know your property is safe from extreme weather and the \nelements.\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you or any of your friends own a second<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,12,976,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all-posts-comments","category-events","category-life","category-real-estate"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Being BOB","author_link":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/author\/admin\/"},"category_info":"All Posts & Comments<\/a> Events<\/a> Life<\/a> Real Estate<\/a>","tag_info":"Real Estate","comment_count":"0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p822aG-w3","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beingbobblog.com\/happy-holidays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}