As a homeowner, your priority should be to keep your family safe. Having your home destroyed or damaged is one of the worst experience you can have. Therefore, it is important to protect your home at all costs. Keep your most precious investment safe.

When planning to go away for a holiday, be sure to turn off the ringers on your home phones. If your phone rings and is not being answered, criminals will realize that you’re away.

Be sure your home always looks occupied. You can purchase timers that can control your household electronics such as lights, TVs and radios. This way it will always look as if someone is home, even when you are away. This is a great way to keep your home safe and avoid burglaries.

Don’t open your door for strangers. Many people are devising many different schemes to get into homes and burglarize them. Therefore, only allow people you know and are expecting to enter your home.

Police Department

Home security systems do more than sounding an alarm in case of a break in. They often even alert you to any time a door is opened. If you have little ones wandering about the house, this makes it easy for you to know if they have come in or gone out.

Consult with your police department to find out about good programs for home protection. Several in various jurisdictions have programs which entail providing a home inspection, what protective measures will help your home and even how to engrave valuable items to make them easier to recover. Ask your police department to see if these types of programs are available.

Whenever you are selecting a home security company, make sure you go with your gut feelings. If the installers give you the heebie-jeebies, it’s not a good sign. It’s your home, and you are free to hire any company you like. The point of having a security system is to make yourself feel at ease.

Use a safe to protect your valuables. If an intruder breaks into your home, at least these valuables will be secure. Keep your safe in a hard-to-get-to place, such as a basement closet or your attic.

Skylights should be secure. While they are an excellent source of natural light, they are also an easy way for thieves to enter your home. Be sure that the skylights for your home are durable and reliable.

Be cognizant of what others can see when they look in your windows. If you have big windows near your big entertainment system, it can seem like an invitation to thieves. Keep your curtains drawn to keep your valuable items safe.

When you decide to purchase a home alarm system, make sure you comparison shop. Wild variations in pricing can exist for similar security products. Make sure you get quotes from at least three companies before you decide on which one you think is the best option.

Purchase an alarm system that has a few “bells and whistles;” you don’t just need protection for your doors. Windows need to be monitored too. Therefore, ensure the windows have an attached alarm. All potential entry points should have an alarm. This can keep your family much safer.

If you’ve just gotten a home, replace every lock. It may seem as if the former owners of the home are honest, but really you don’t know much about them. Keep in mind that other families might have lived with them, too.

If you want to have a spare key close to your house in order to prevent lockouts, make sure you give its hiding place some careful thought. Under the doormat or above the door frame are all too common spaces that will be checked first by potential intruders. Try hiding the key in your outside dog’s collar.

Rotted Wood

Replace rotted wood around any door frames. Rotted wood can be easily removed by thieves. Keep your home secure by replacing rotted wood with fresh timber.

Be sure you have secured your attached garage. There is a solution for people that are worried about burglars going into their home through an attached garage. Use a C-clamp to secure the door if it’s off track.

If you scheduled an appointment for a member of the security company to come to your house, ask them to show you some identification first. Many thieves use this tactic to enter a house. This can put your family and possessions in danger. Be careful to avoid this sort of danger.

When hiring a home security company, make sure to read the fine print on the contract you are signing. Sometimes, hidden costs can be incurred if you get rid of the service before a certain date. Avoid as many fees as you can by reading everything.

An extremely important tactic for keeping your home safe is changing out the locks. Whether an old roommate left or a relationship ended, changing your locks is a good idea. It is generally cheap and may be done in a little under a day.

Make an appointment with a home security company to evaluate the security needs of your home specifically. Each customer wants certain things as far as home security goes. When you choose a company that pays close attention to detail in creating your home security plan, you will feel very secure.

If you haven’t gotten a paper shredder, it may be time to purchase one. Thieves are likely to steal documents that include your personal information if they can find them. If you don’t want a shredder, rip the papers up manually.

If you have skylights, do not neglect them when making sure your home is secure. Intruders could use skylights to enter your home. The hardware that secures your skylights should be sturdy and durable.

Make sure no one can look inside your garage. Cover windows using frosting, which you can buy at large hardware stores, to keep people from peeking in your window. Also, don’t leave your door open for long periods of time when you work there.

Can you see the number of your house from the street? During an emergency crisis, smaller numbers prevent emergency personnel from finding your home quickly. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much to fix this problem.

Walls are great for hiding items. This is a great way to hide jewelry, for example. Simply take advantage of an unused switch plate, electrical outlet, or phone jack. If you’re using all your outlets, you can install phony ones.

See if your security firm offers a variety of contract lengths. There are of course pros and cons for each contract. A longer contract might give you a lower monthly bill, but you could be stuck with those monthly costs if you sell your home or decide to discontinue services. Short contracts leave you with freedom, but also a larger bill.

Improving the security of your home should not be difficult. Take the time to learn as much as you can about home security. Give your home a security increase by using these ideas. Don’t neglect anything you read here. Make your home as safe as possible.

Don’t put extra keys under doormats or in planters. You might think that you are providing yourself a safe way into the house if you misplace your keys, but you are really inviting attackers inside. Thieves are aware of the best hiding spots. Rather, give the key to a neighbor to hold.