It’s that time of year again, many of our beloved snowbirds are heading north to spend their summer with family and friends. If you’re heading home for the summer, you quite likely have a long to-do list in preparation for your trip. With so much to consider, we’ve put together a few tips for securing your home while you’re away for any extended period.
Create the illusion that you’re home
This illusion is the best way to deter potential burglaries. There are many ways to achieve this illusion including:
- Mail Delivery. Suspend all mail/package delivery while you’re away. Don’t forget monthly subscriptions and newspapers.
- Car in the Driveway. Leaving a car in the driveway is a great way to make burglars think twice. Asking a trusted neighbor to park in your driveway will create a more believable affect as the car will come and go at normal hours.
- Timers. Adding timers to your indoor lights will allow you to set your lamps to come on at various times to give a natural appearance to the evenings and early mornings inside of your home.
- Maintenance. Hire someone or a service to perform regular exterior maintenance on your home while away. Keeping the lawn maintained and the shrubbery trimmed will keep your home looking neat and occupied.
- Outdoor Lighting. Outside lighting provides visibility of doors and windows from the street and neighboring homes, deterring would-be burglars from trying to enter through such a visible area.
- Timers. Outside lights left on during the day can signal you are gone. It is the little things like this that burglars look for. Learn about Outdoor Lighting Perspectives of Naples lighting control automation, it can control your interior and exterior lights. And best of all, it can be turned on and off from a laptop, allowing you to make changes and resets from across the country.
Security system
Having a security system is a great way to deter intruders. If alarms go off when windows are opened or doors are opened, intruders will usually leave immediately. Add security system signage to your lawn or front door to advertise that your home is secure to deter attempted burglaries before they even try.
Attentive neighbor or friend
Ask a trusted neighbor or friend to watch over your place and call you in the event there is an issue. Having your home checked over once a week to be sure issues from summer storms, attempted burglaries or power outages don’t occur is advised to avoid having small issues turn into large expensive disasters.
A house sitter
Hiring a house-sitter is a great way to keep your home occupied while you are gone. With someone inhabiting your home and keeping up with general every day cleaning and maintenance you can rest easy knowing any potential issues that could arise are being handled or communicated to you in real-time.
More Summer Vacation Preparation
Security is not the only consideration when going north for the summer. There are many maintenance items you will want to be sure to address before you go to make sure your home does not suffer any ill-effects from heat, power outages or moisture build up while you’re away. We discovered a fantastic resource provided by a local realtor, to help you cover your bases.
If you’re interested in lighting control automation or outdoor lighting for your home, call today for a free consultation. (239) 970-9554
