Enjoy Safety at Home and Away All Year

You’ve asked someone to water your plants, dropped Mr. Woofs off at the doggy hotel in town, bags are packed and you got back up sunglasses, sun block and beach towels galore. You have everything you need to bring with you to ensure a safe, comfortable and fun time while you’re traveling and have made sure that everything will be taken care of in your absence, but what about your beach house? Better question, what about your residence at home?

Home security systems are essential to you and your families’ safety whether you live in the country or city. Aside from installing an easy to use and efficient security system, there are a great many other things that you can do to assure you and your family that you are safe and prepared for any burglary or robberies that could occur while at home or on vacation.

For the Vacation Home

If you have a vacation home that you stay at once a month and then rent it out for the rest of the year, whenever possible, take down any signs that might indicate the property is for sale or for rent. You can always get renters or buyers from ads placed on Craigslist.org or online advertisers in that same vein.

Installing a light timer is an instantly affordable solution that can be used in addition to many of the home security systems out there. This will let people in your neighborhood, or possible robbers, think that you are home. If you have a timer that turns the outside light on and off on it’s own, at sundown and sunrise, then outsiders will have the impression that someone is there protecting the property.

In addition to lights, putting a video surveillance system in place, both at your summer home and normal residence, will set you and your families’ mind at ease and make it easier to track down criminals and provide concrete evidence for law enforcement.

If you can’t afford cameras and gadgets, you can simply restrain yourself from telling your neighbors (either at home or on vacation) that you’re on vacation or that you will be on vacation. That way, at least you know that the nosey neighbors won’t inform any strangers, with a nefarious agenda, that you’re gone and it’s open season on looting your house.

Protect Your Home While Away

Outside from taking special measures to ensure that your home is protected from burglary, protecting your property from other unforeseen damages is important and will save you money and offer you piece of mind as well. Here are a few things you might want to do to make your home or vacation home prepared for when you are away:

• Turn off your water – If you, and every living thing that is permitted to live in your abode, is away and not living on your property, it makes sense to turn off the water while you are away. If you live in a colder climate, this is doubly true because you will have to keep the heat going to prevent the pipes from bursting, but you will not have to have concern for keeping the water flowing through the pipes.
• Tend to home while you’re away – Keeping the conditions of both homes looking presentable and keeping up the appearances can be essential as well. If you have a garden or a front and back yard, having a thorough sprinkler system that functions on a timer can be very useful year round.
• Add anti-freeze to the toilet – If you can’t regulate the temperature of the building and its pipes, then pouring anti-freeze down a toilet to prevent over-freezing in colder weather.