As a homeowner, you’re open to the risk of an unauthorized person breaking into your home without your permission. Most burglaries occur via forced entry, where the burglar gains access through unlocked entrances. By taking some appropriate security measures listed below, you can guarantee peace of mind and the protection of your home.
1. Subscribe to a home and contents insurance plan.
A standard home insurance policy can cover the cost of repairing or replacing a property in an unexpected event. Conversely, a home contents insurance policy covers the cost of replacing personal belongings or household items that are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Depending on the nature of the policy, home contents insurance can cover the repair or replacement cost of personal belongings in the event of a fire, storm, earthquake, malicious damage, and burglary. Under the home contents insurance plan, you can insure items like electronics, furniture, jewelry, paintings, and personal effects.
Some insurance companies also offer discounts on premiums for homes equipped with safety equipment like dead-bolt locks, bars, fire or burglar alarms, and window grates. If you live in a rented apartment or condo, you have the option of subscribing to a renter’s insurance policy. Unlike a landlord’s insurance plan, a renters’ insurance plan provides personal property coverage.
2. Reinforce all home entrances.
Another way to protect your home against burglary is to learn to think like a burglar. Studies show that front doors, back doors, and ground floor windows are vulnerable to break-ins. With that in mind, reinforce all entrances to your home to fortify it against any form of a break-in. Besides, some burglars can tell at a glance the strength of a door or window fortification. So, try to place security bars like rods or dowels along sliding windows and sliding doors to prevent them from being forced open.
Some people prefer to replace their main entrance doors with security doors. Better still, you can equip your entrance doors with reinforced lock systems. A criminal burglar can case your home by merely looking inside. That said, tint all your windows to keep your valuables from public glare. Personal items like expensive television sets, laptops, computers, electronic gadgets, and jewelry shouldn’t be left to sit out in the open.
If the cost of tinting is out of your budget range, put up blinds or curtains to make it difficult for anyone to peep inside your home. In addition, you can keep items that you rarely use in a storage room.
3. Post signs that indicate extra security.
Posting signs that indicate the presence of extra security outside your home is a good tactic that you can adopt, no matter whether you have one installed or not. There’s no gainsaying that burglars tend to avoid homes that have a professional security system or guard dog on the premises.
You don’t have to own a dog before you can place a “Beware of Dog” sign in your front yard. What’s more, you can also place imitation security system stickers at the main entrance and exit of your home. Fortunately, you can purchase these items at select hardware stores, spy/surveillance stores, home security stores, and online stores.
If you don’t have a dog, now’s a good time to get yourself one. The incessant barking of a dog is enough to raise awareness around the neighborhood that something is amiss. Regardless of the size or breed of the dog, its mere presence is enough to send chills down the spine of a burglar.
In addition to posting foreboding signs in your front yard, try to maintain your yard and landscaping to eliminate any possible hiding options for burglars. More so, a burglar might think that you are away when he sees an excessively long or patchy lawn.
