Home invaders are a real danger, whether you like it or not. You can be living in the safest neighborhood and yet be a victim of home invasion, which is why it's vital that you be prepared at all times for what might happen. There are many viable home security options available for you to choose from, but it all means very little if you're unprepared for what might happen. This article will take you through the basics of how you can keep your family and your belongings protected from home invaders.
Be Prepared
The very best way to protect your home from invaders is to be prepared for it. In order to prepare yourself, first, you should try to put yourself in a position of an intruder and stroll around your home to check the areas that would give you an easy access. Breaking into a home is usually made easier by homeowners, as they don't pay attention to some of the weaknesses in their security. This is why it's vital that you identify all easy-to-break-in points in your house and modify them ASAP.Being prepared also means having a planned escape route in case of an emergency. Ideally, you should have two or more escape routes depending on where the home invaders are coming from, so keep that in mind.
Safe Room
You'll want to use this option when you're actually constructing your house. If you haven't seen David Fincher's movie Panic Room, a safe room is a separate room inside your house that can protect you and your family in cases of emergency. You'll want your safe room to be difficult to spot by the invaders, but the real thing here is the prevention. Most thieves won't bother breaking into a safe room, especially because they'll assume you have contacted the police already. However, for safe room to have an effect - you must actually be aware of an intrusion.
Alarm System
Like with the safe room, alarm system's real value is in prevention. When thieves see that your home is packing the best alarm system on the market - they're likely to choose another target. Simply put, most thieves assess the risk vs reward and don't commit to something that they don't think they can pull off. That said, some thieves won't even notice that you have an alarm system until it's too late, which is why you can't rely on it completely.
Keep Your House Lit at Night
Exterior lights will go a long way to prevent any burglars sneaking around the house since they'll be in plain sight for anyone who may pass by. Most experts like Portcullis recommend that you combine these techniques for the maximum safety of your home, as it increases the risks for burglars to be noticed so they'll probably just stay away. You can keep the lights on in the house as well if you want additional security.
Insurance
While staying alive and unharmed is an absolute priority when it comes to burglaries, there's no denying that the damage can be done anyway. In average, a burglary costs over $2,000 in damages even when it's unsuccessful - so make sure you have the homeowner's or renter's insurance. Thieves want to get out of the house as fast as possible, so they'll spare nothing that gets in their way while searching for the valuables. Destruction of your property is fairly common and if you're not insured you may get a headache once you realize just how big the damage is.
Bottom Line
Keeping your home safe and sound isn't easy and it demands a lot of awareness from the homeowners. If you're thinking that such a thing surely won't happen to you (just because it never did in the past) - you're sorely mistaken. Some neighborhoods are more likely to be attacked by home invaders, so make sure you know what's happening in yours. Plan your escape route and explain it to your family members. It's absolutely vital that everyone is on the same page, as you don't want anyone running into burglars while they're inside your home. Having an alarm system in place is also important to reduce the chances of an attack, but you'll also want to leave nothing to chance and get that homeowner's insurance just in case.
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