- Mail or newspapers piling up. Remember to stop your mail at the post office or arrange for a neighbor to pick it up.
- Overgrown or shrubs that obscure the home from the street. Check around your home to see if there are good sight lines to windows and doors. If not, prune them or hire a service that can do this.
- Weak doors or windows. It’s essential to keep entry points into your home (doors and windows) locked. Also check it to see if these openings are structurally vulnerable to break-ins, as weak doors and windows are easy targets for forced entry. Strong, sturdy doors with deadbolt locks and reinforced metal frames are optimal.
- No indoor or outdoor lights. Darkness around your home can provide cover for a burglar. Avoid this by strategically placing automatic outdoor or motion sensor lights around your home and property. Light bulbs set on a timer inside also help give the illusion that the home is occupied.
- Homes with security systems – especially with cameras. An alarm system can be an essential step in protecting your home and valuables. In fact, the FBI says 83% of would-be burglars check for the presence of an alarm system before attempting a break-in.
- And with remote monitoring, you have the convenience of checking on your home from anywhere.