Vancouver Home Security for the Holidays – By Your Friendly Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Vancouver Home Security for the Holidays – By Your Friendly Vancouver Mortgage Broker

Are you taking off for the holidays for any length of time this year? If you are, then just remember that although it might be the season of ‘Good Will’, and we always hope to find the best in our fellow human beings, there are crooks out there just waiting to see your home nice and dark and ripe for the plucking during the holiday season.

I don’t mean to sound gloomy during this festive season, butVancouveris the big city so we need to be smart and practical. Now, if your home doesn’t use a security company or have a security system in place then there are some practical security steps that you would be wise to make before you leave for your holiday.

Most crooks are practical and look for places of opportunity. They don’t want to waste time and seek out homes that look unoccupied. Thieves like easy targets, so one of the best ways to get a burglar to overlook your home is to make it look lived in and occupied even though you aren’t there.

You can do this without spending a lot of money. The first thing a burglar likes to do is to try your door knob or windows to see if you locked up properly. You’d be surprised how many people forget to properly lock up all their doors and windows. And, don’t forget your garage and your storage sheds..

Burglars also like to work in the dark when they break in, so if you have areas of you yard that are concealed and not too visible, spend a few bucks and get yourself some motion detector lighting. These products can even be bought as solar powered.

For night time get yourself some good digital light timers for the inside of the home to use for the lights and even for the television or sound system. These timers can be easily programmed so they appear random like someone turning lights on and off at various times of the evening so it looks like someone is home.

Do you have deadbolts on all you doors because most burglars will opt to go for doors without deadbolts. They are not that hard to install and you should have them because burglars don’t like to work too hard when they break into your home. You might have a security expert look at how secure your doors really are because did you know that most doors can be kicked in with just 3-6 solid kicks?

You can also install inside locks on your sliding glass doors and your ground floor windows for added security. These are also available in most hardware stores. For your sliding glass doors you could use a wooden or metal dowel, or drop pins to secure the sliding door window.

What about the daytime? Would you be surprised to know that most break ins actually take place during the daytime? Again, the best way to defend against this possibility is to make sure your place look as if it’s occupied.

If you happen to be leaving for a longer holiday, then take the time to get a few things into effect before you leave. Cancel your newspaper and have the post office hold your mail. Have a friend, relative or neighbour shovel your driveway and collect those flyers.

Another good idea is to buy security decals or signs for your yard, or attach them to doors, and gates that will make think thieves think twice about trying to break in and move on instead..

Prepare the inside of your home too. Remember that thieves just gather up what’s handy  and lying about. They are usually ‘in and out’ in under ten minutes. They also know many of the places where people like to hide stuff. If you have valuables, you should either place them into a safe deposit box, buy yourself a safe, or at least take the time to be creative and hide your valuables where thieves won’t think to look  for them.

If you need some inspiration, there are a lot of great ideas which you can find on the Internet. Take it from your friendlyVancouvermortgage broker – if you’re taking off for the holidays, take the time to make your home secure and uninviting for thieves. Have a safe and relaxing Holiday!