If you have a home, you know what it is like to want your home to be safe. Almost nothing is as bad as the thought of having your home broken into and destroyed. Therefore, it is important to protect your home at all costs. Keep your most precious investment safe.

It is important for your home to always look lived in. Timers can be used to turn lights and televisions on and off when required. This will make it look like someone is home. It is also another way to secure your home.

You should always change the locks after purchasing a home. You will want to have a unique combination to stay secure. To make sure you’re the only person that can get into your home, contact a locksmith. Also, you can contact a locksmith if you ever misplace your keys.

Don’t give your keys to a house cleaner unless you totally trust them. You need to ensure that they are honest and reputable according to references before you have handed over the key. Ask for references and check them thoroughly. If you hire a cleaner from a company, then you should check the company with the BBB.

You should not be shy. Build up a rapport with the people who own homes close to yours. Keep your eye on their houses, and ask for help to keep yours safe too. Pay attention to gossip. This might provide you with some valuable information, at times related to security, including information about potential strangers who you might not want near your home.

You should only provide a house cleaner your key if you completely trust them. Be sure any home cleaner you give your key to is trustworthy and reputable. Do a background check on them. If you’re hiring from a company, call the BBB for more information.

Motion sensor lights are a great investment. They turn on only if someone is nearby. This lets you know something is moving and also drives off criminals. Just do not forget to replace the bulbs periodically to keep them functioning at all times.

Do you have skylights? If so, you should keep them in mind when protecting your home. Skylights are great for making a home brighter, but they can make it easier for burglars to access the house. Be sure that the skylights for your home are durable and reliable.

Make sure that you hide your spare key in a good spot. Above doors or under doormats are much too common to hide them and potential criminals will check them first. Try hiding your key on a lawn statue or in a potted plant.

Walls are great for hiding things. Keep small, valuable items inside the walls of your home. Target any unused phone jacks or electrical outlets for an easy hiding spot. Even if every single plate in your home is being used, you can purchase a fake one purpose-built for concealing valuables.

If you are throwing away the box an expensive item came in, wait until trash day to put the box out. These types of items are appealing to thieves, and you may as well put a sign in your yard inviting them to steal yours.

Don’t let people into your home unless you know them. Be wary of those who come to your door selling products, asking for help, or telling sob stories. These people might want to actually do you harm or could be casing out your house for a future break-in.

When moving into your new house, change every lock. Even though the person who sold your home to you may seem honest, you simply can’t know for certain. Remember that other families may have lived there before that person as well.

Rotten Wood

Keep your car in the garage. This will keep it away from thieves and vandals. If you keep your car in the garage instead of in the driveway, it is harder for thieves to know whether you are at home or not.

Replace rotten wood near door frames. An intruder could pry the rotten wood easily to open the door. Replace rotting wood with fresh wood to improve your home’s security.

Your first priority when you move to an apartment or house where others have lived in before is to replace all the locks. You do not want anyone to have a copy of the key. For maximum security, buy your own locks and install them yourself. This way you can be certain nobody else has a key.

When choosing a home security firm, trust your instincts. If you are hesitant about the company, your gut feeling is especially important. Don’t hesitate asking for another technician or get another company. You want the system to make you feel like you’re more comfortable.

Before you give a security company employee access to your home, make sure they’re in uniform and that they present acceptable identification. It is simple for a thief to pose as a representative of your home security company as a means of gaining access to your house. Don’t allow this to happen, as it is a direct threat to your house and its contents. Act cautiously to avoid potential dangers.

If you will be away from your home, arrange to have whoever is collecting your mail to also pick up fliers placed inside your door. Often burglars will place these at homes and wait to see if people take them down. The more flyers pile up or the longer they are there, the more likely it is that the house is empty.

You never want people to be able to see your valuables from outside of your home. It may be great to have large windows with a view, but this means that people can look in. Cover all street-facing windows.

When checking out security companies, ask whether they allow you to choose between buying or leasing the system. While you will pay more to buy, you don’t have to keep paying for it month after month. Leasing is often less expensive, but it may involve contracts and higher monthly fees. Think about both options before making a decision.

If you have a numeric keypad on your door as your lock, don’t make the password your birthday. Your birth date is easy information to obtain. Use a number you can remember through some trick of memory known only to you, making it difficult for someone else to figure it out.

Always lock your home, even if you plan on coming back within a few minutes. Many home thefts start with the thief simply walking in an unlocked door or window. It can be a quick job for a burglar to steal items of great value.

If you turn lights off and on at the same hours each day, you should use a timer. This will ensure that they turn on and off when you can’t be at home.

Always keep your irreplaceable valuables secure. Items like family photos, passports, legal documents and expensive jewelry should be kept in a safe place. One option is a floor safe inside your home. If you want to be very secure, you can put it in safety deposit boxes at your bank.

If you’ve recently moved into a house, get any locks changed out. While the person you bought the home from may seem on the up and up, you have no idea who they really are. Aside from that, other people lived in the home even before the ones from whom you purchased the home.

As this article has demonstrated, keeping your home safe does not have to be difficult. You need to know more about home security. Use what you’ve just learned to secure your home. Pay attention to details, and take the time to develop a plan that will allow you to protect your home efficiently.