Colourview Ontario Real Estate

Posts Tagged ‘Security’

When you are selling your home, the idea that your house could be burgled or vandalized might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, there are people out there who pose as buyers in order to gain access to your home and figure out its weak spots for a visit later that night or even several weeks from the time they first look it over. By utilizing some of the following strategies, you can minimize the risk of a home intrusion and theft.

Use a Realtor®

By using a Realtor®, you will ensure that your prospective buyers will first go through someone who will inquire as to their identity and their motives for wanting your home. Since Realtors® can be targets of theft and violence while showing homes themselves, they tend to be cautious when showing homes to anyone, keeping copies of drivers licenses and taking a second agent with them for added safety. This also gives your home more security when it is being shown, as the people touring the property know that there are people watching out for the house and the people representing it.

Do not let strangers into your home on a moment’s notice

If someone is serious about purchasing, they will take down the contact information of the Realtor® and leave you in peace. People who try to coerce you into letting them into your home may be really interested in buying, but they might be more interested in stealing or worse. Tell them to contact your agent. Caution your children against letting anyone in who claims that they are there “to see the house”.

Less is more in photographs

Before taking pictures or having pictures taken, look critically at each room and remove items that could be an incentive to steal. Examples include your new flatscreen TV and state-of-the-art computer system. Avoid pictures of any family heirlooms and any items you know to be valuable. This not only helps make your home less of a target for thieves; it also helps you avoid a potential buyer saying, “But I loved the chandelier in the picture online!”

Keep your valuables locked up or with you

Valuables – wallets, passports, money, money containers, jewelry, etc. should be in a safe or at least in a place where it takes more than a moment’s search to find them. Avoid popular hiding places like the toilet tank or a rubber cabbage. A small safe is a good investment, not only for selling your home, but also for general valuable security. Tell children to put their piggy banks away and any treasured possessions. Most buyers have only the best of intentions, but there are always accidents and people who don’t control their children to effect the destruction of a valued object.

Home security is often just common sense. The harder it is to get something without being caught, the less likely people are going to try for it. With sensible supervision of the home, securing of valuables and the avoidance of anything that would catch the eye of a thief, you can make your home and belongings much more secure during home showings.

In today’s society, almost anyone can become a victim of crime. Break-ins can not only lead to a loss of expensive and sentimental possessions but they can also deeply affect people on an emotional level. If you think it’s time you re-evaluated the security of your home then check out the top tips below to help you protect you and your family…

Make sure that all the external doors in your home have at least three locking points. 3-lever or 5-lever Mortice locks are a good investment as they will add a great deal of strength to your external doors. Make sure that all doors and door frames are in a good condition as old and shabby doors could potentially be forced open so it’s wise to replace them. If you’re thinking of investing in PVC or metal framed doors, make sure they come with good built in locks and a fitted chain, as these can be expensive to add afterwards. Make sure you protect the inside of your letter box as this can be used by burglars to gain entry into a property by using an instrument to open the lock from the inside. You can invest in a letter cage or a security cover to protect your letter box. Ensure that you remove all keys from your external doors at night before you go to bed and keep these in a safe place, where they can’t be reached by hooks being inserted through the letter box. If you lose your house keys then change the locks as you never who might have picked them up. Invest in a set of window locks and fit these to all external windows, keep them locked at night and remove the key. Window locks are especially useful in older properties that don’t have double glazing. If your window frames are looking rickety then you should replace them. When you invest in a new set of windows opt for laminated glass as this is much more difficult to smash than normal glass. Consider investing in movement activated security lights for the front and back of your home. These can help you feel secure and protected when coming home and entering your house, especially during the winter months and they can also detect and deter any prowlers. Invest in timers for internal lights and the radio, especially if you are going on holiday or will be away from your property for the night. These can create the impression that someone is in the house and should help to deter burglars. Invest in a quality burglar alarm. A monitored alarm is one of the best to purchase as it alerts the emergency services to the break-in. When you have your alarm fitted make sure that it’s installed by a company who are registered with the National Security Inspectorate or the Security Systems and Alarm Inspection Board.

Just follow the home security tips above and you’ll be on your way to protecting your home from burglars.

If you are considering installing security cameras on or around your home, there are several questions that should be answered before turning a single screw, drilling a single hole, or buying a single camera. If you are on a limited budget, it is a good idea to decide ahead of time exactly what your concerns are and limit the number of cameras to 4, as there is usually a jump in price between 4 and 5 cameras. This jump in price is because digital security video recorders, or DVRs, come in 4 channel, 8 channel and 16 channel configurations. I you feel you need more than four cameras, it is usually better to go ahead and install four cameras using a DVR that is easily upgradable. When this is the case, we recommend using a scalable PC-Based DVR system, and splitting the cost of additional cameras over time. After all, some protection and deterrence is better than none. Just be careful to purchase a DVR that is easily upgradable.

If you are limited to four cameras, you will want to do everything possible to combine camera angles to cover as many problem areas at once. This of course means wider angle lenses which will give you less detail. However, if you use cameras with adjustable, or varifocal, lenses, you can later adjust those camera angles to get better clarity and detail as you add cameras later on.

We recommend covering each entrance as the basis for any home security system. This means a camera at the front door, a camera at the back door and one at the garage door.  Because we want to maximize the viewing area, you may find the following tips helpful.

Always use outdoor cameras to watch your entrances so you can use the excess viewing area to watch the perimeter of your home.
Place your front door camera in a corner facing away from the home. This allows you to see the face of the person standing at your door, and will likely also allow you to see part of your front lawn or walkway leading to your door.
Place the backdoor camera close enough to the door to see detail, but far enough away that you can also watch part of the yard for safety reasons. This usually means about 10-12 feet away from the door.
Any cameras that are watching entrances should be placed on the side of the door that opens in order to see the person entering or exiting and so the door does not block the view.
Use a single camera to cover your garage door and your driveway.
Use infrared cameras with enough power to cover the area you are watching. If your driveway is 40 feet long, do not use a 25 foot infrared camera. The money you save will lead to inferior results.

If you find that you have covered the recommended entrances and exits and still have room in the budget for another camera or two, you should consider coverage for areas of the home that provide risk. Your outdoor air conditioner is loaded with valuable copper pipes and is a common target for thieves and criminals, consider covering it and part of your yard with an armored infrared camera.  If any of the windows in your home have shrubbery that is not directly up to the window, consider covering these areas as burglars and thieves like to use the shrubbery as cover while they work on breaking into the home. This coverage is also useful if you have teenagers that like to sneak out at night.

Interior cameras can be useful if you have baby sitters, house sitters, or are away from home a lot and want to check in over the internet, but in general, they can be saved for a later date if the budget does not allow for it. Of course, if you purchased the right DVR, you can always upgrade later as you see fit by adding indoor cameras or covert cameras.

In general, we recommend initially going with fewer cameras than you think you will need. Chances are that once you have some experience watching your home on camera you will identify some areas you want covered that you may not have thought of before. This is pretty common, so we find it’s a good idea to leave a channel or two open with no cameras installed so you can cover those areas later on as budget and need allows.