Rent Doesn’t Equal Giving up Peace of Mind
In a minute, at least 3 burglary attempts occur in the united states. This marks an alarming rate of burglary and makes ensuring maximal security in your apartment. Apartment buildings are at a higher risk of burglary attempts as a result of the increased movement of people in and out of the building. Although this tips may seem like a regular thing to do. Ensuring that you follow them may be the determinant in the success of a burglary attempt.
1 – Always remember to lock your door and windows.
One in every three cases of burglary occurs through access gained through an unlocked door or window. A door left open either intentionally or unintentionally makes a burglary attempt 80% more likely to be successful. Avoid leaving extra keys close to the door especially not under the doormat.
2 – Take notice of poorly lit lighting:
A burglar is most likely to strike in an apartment that is badly lit or one that has no lighting. Endeavor to leave your lights on, this gives the impression that you are home. Ensure the hallways, staircases and other parts that an intruder is likely to sneak in and hide is well lighted.
3 – Change or update the door locks:
When moving into an apartment for the first time, endeavor to ask your apartment owner to change the locks, if you suspect that your locks may have to be tampered with, discuss changing it with your apartment owner, you never know who may have a spare key to your old apartment lock. If possible, insist and replace your old locks with locks that cannot be lock bumped and add additional lock where necessary. A deadbolt is preferable in this instance or upgrade to an August smartlock.
4 – Fix Window locks:
How secure are your windows? A burglar who’s determined to gain entrance into your home would stop at nothing to get into your apartment especially if such is located on the ground floor. Endeavor to replace any faulty window lock and keep the windows locked when leaving the house.
5 – Install a Security System:
Burglars would most likely attack an Apartment when they are aware such apartments are not protected by a home security system. A home security system isn’t over available to homeowners as some alarm companies provide security services for renters which they can easily take along when they move. A company we recommend that is available to renters is Frontpoint. Check our review on Frontpoint here.
Just because you rent shouldn’t mean you cannot protect yourself or the family the same way a home owner would. Since most alarm systems are now wireless, there is not much needed in the way of drilling or changes to the home that should stop a landlord from letting you do it. Make sure the contract is in your name and that the landlord is not liable for any expenses that happen if you are to move. Renters with a long history or good credit score will see this easy to do.
6 – Keep valuables in a safe:
A safe provides additional safety to your apartment. Important documents and valuables which are likely to be targeted by burglars should be kept in a safe. A safe not only protects against burglars, some safe protect against fire outbreaks and other disasters. Not all safe requires being fitted into the wall, some safes can be hard bolted into the floor. Talk to your homeowner about installing a safe in your apartment before acting on it. Check out our review of the sentry safe here.
7 – Get a Renters Insurance:
A renter insurance is a type of insurance that offers protection to your property and valuable in a burglary or disaster. Get a renter insurance for your apartment while the cost may differ depending on the insurance company, a renter insurance becomes extremely valuable if the cost of replacing your property in the wake of a burglary or disaster becomes very expensive. Payment by a renter insurance is usually at full property value.
8 – Make friends with your neighbors:
We aren’t suggesting becoming friends with all 100 of your neighbors if you have that much but it’s safer to know who resides in your floor and also make friends with a person on the same floor as you who can notify you of any suspicious movement around. A means of communication between the neighbors of an apartment building such as a Facebook page/group can be very useful. This is a quick and easy way to do a neighborhood watch program, more tips can be found here.
9 – Research where you are moving too first.
Ask about maintenance of security features in your apartment, carry out security surveys, crosscheck crime rate with software such as the Trulia crime map and contact the local law enforcement agency about an apartment before moving in.
10 – Get a pet or guard dog
Pets such as dogs and cats provides extra security to an apartment, a burglar would most likely not attack an apartment with a dog because pets usually make a lot of noise in the presence of any intruder or unknown figure.
Conclusively, even if you live alone, give the impression that you don’t. Leaving a light on or some music playing would commonly deter some burglars.
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Growing up with Law and Order and CSI shows taught Isabelle Landau one thing: if people back then had high-quality home security systems, those series would have been way shorter. In our modern world, technology helps us keep burglars away easily, and this is what Izzy studies and writes about: alarm systems, home security, protection systems, and more.
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