Security Tips for Your Residential Property

Your home’s security should always be of the utmost importance, but with so many obligations in the course of our daily lives, it can be easy to overlook it. That can be a tragic mistake. Focusing on improving your home security is one of the best investments you can make of both time and money into your residence and your belongings.

Which steps you choose to follow depend on many factors, including your budget, your personal preferences, the size and layout of your home, and any security vulnerabilities that may apply to your location. However, this general overview of security measures can help give you a good idea of where to focus and what you might need to invest in improving

Basic Tips

The first place to start is to focus on basic preventative measures that increase your home’s safety. Most of the tips in this section are free or low-cost and don’t require much work on your part to enact.

• Make sure the exterior of your home is well-lit. Make sure that all the lightbulbs in your outdoor lighting are functioning correctly and replace any burnt out bulbs. You may want to have additional lights installed on any dark areas of your property. Motion-activated LED lights use very little electricity (some even run on battery power) yet provide a sufficient amount of light when needed.
• Make an effort to get to know your neighbors, whether you live in a small neighborhood or a large suburb. You may even want to consider setting up a neighborhood watch. At the very least, keep in contact with each other so that if any suspicious behavior is detected the news can be spread around.
• Take care when posting about any big-ticket purchases or vacations on your social media. Ensure that any posts of that nature are kept private among family and friends and not shared publicly. Some criminals scan social media searching for this very information to determine their next target.
• Keep any landscaping close to your home trimmed and neat. Overgrown shrubs or bushes, for example, can create blind spots where criminals can obscure themselves while breaking into windows.
• Ensure that all of your locks are in properly working order. This goes for every door and window in your home. Any access point to your home needs sufficient protection, as criminals can be creative and will utilize any vulnerability to gain access. Your garage door should have a lock installed. Any patio or sliding glass doors on your home should have additional safety locks installed to prevent forced entry.
• Consider having a locksmith perform a safety inspection. While you may have taken steps to improve your security, sometimes a professional can spot vulnerabilities that you would never even have thought of. Their experience and knowledge allow a locksmith to have a keen eye for these types of overlooked details that could put your home at risk, such as an improperly secured entry point. A locksmith can assess your entire property’s security from top to bottom and recommend the most cost-effective steps to take to enhance your home’s security.