Every homeowner needs to understand how they can keep both their homes safe.Sadly, home burglaries are very common, in addition to the extensive risks posed by floods or fires. Read on to learn some useful advice to keep your family is safe from outside threats.

Make your home look occupied all the time. You can buy timers to have radios, as well as other devices, power on or off at varying intervals. This will give your home the illusion that someone is presently at home. This helps you keep your home safer and not attract the attention of potential intruders.

After getting a new home, make sure to change its locks. The person who previously owned the home may have made copies of keys. You want to be sure that you’re the only one with a key. Make sure you do the same thing if you lose your keys sometime.

Buy a small home safe to keep all of your valuables in. The safe should be kept hidden in an inconspicuous area of your home.

Above a door frame or under a mat are much too common to hide them and potential criminals will check them first. One good place to hide a spare key inside the collar of your outdoor dog.

If someone comes to clean your home, only give them a key if they’re trustworthy. Only select service people who are totally trustworthy. All references should be checked. If the house cleaner is employed by a company, check with the BBB of your area to determine their reputation.

Ask friends for advice before choosing home security system or company. You can benefit from the experience of others that have already dealt with these companies. Ask around so you’ll have as much advice for making a better choice.

You never want to open your door to a stranger without proper identification. People try many ways to trick others into letting them in so they can steal from them. Make sure everyone in your home are only opened for expected visitors.

Do you let your dog outside when you leave the house? This pet may be an excellent storing spot for your spare key. You can attach your key to your dog’s collar in order to keep the key hidden. This is especially useful if the dog does not take kindly to strangers.

See if your local police department offers any home security programs. They may offer things such as home inspections, home inspections, engraving tools for marking code numbers onto items so that they will be easily identified if stolen. Call and inquire as to what is available.

Talk to your neighborhood.

Make sure that you hide your spare key in a good spot. Hiding it beneath the doormat is very common and most intruders will look there. Try to find somewhere less obvious.

Were you aware that your home’s wires are? A lot of people do not know this until a robber steals it from the house. The wiring has copper and is easy to be quickly taken off a short time span. Make sure the wiring is hidden or difficult to access in order to keep this valuable item safe.

Rotten Wood

When planning to go away for a holiday, be sure to turn off the ringers on your home phones. If your phone is ringing while you are out, burglars will realize that no one is home, making your home very vulnerable to an attack during your time away.

Replace rotten wood around any door frames. An intruder can simply pry the rotten wood easily to open the door.Replace rotting door frame with new one and keep your home much safer.

Intruders could disguise themselves off as an employee of a security company just to get inside your home. This proves rather dangerous for both your belongings and possessions. Be careful with who you let into your home.

Don’t let people into your house that you don’t know. This includes a salesperson or people looking for help. There are some people who will just come in to see if you have a home security system, and if you do not, they could come back later when you are not home.

Always check references from anyone you are considering hiring to do work on your home. You need to do a background check as well to find out about their criminal history. You can’t always be sure that maids, service workers or contractors are honest, and letting them in or giving them a key could be a fatal mistake.

Use the Internet to find a new home security company.After that, you can narrow down the results and use appointments for price comparisons.

There’s no security system so durable that it can go without regular maintenance and inspections. Have yours checked out once a year. Have a worker from the security company take a look at it. Your security system’s quality can be impacted by numerous factors, such as the weather and wild animals. You might be unaware of problems that arise in some cases.

Ask your home security company about how long they’ve been in business before you sign up for service. A company with a while has proved they can survive and provide great service is reliable. Knowing you are not dealing with a fly by night company can keep you extra peace of mind when making this crucial decision.

Consider installing a surveillance system for your home and property. Both hidden and visible video cameras are effective in protecting your home. Visible cameras are a deterrent to most intruders, and if they try to disarm them, a camera that is hidden will keep capturing footage. Many surveillance systems can even be accessed via cell phone, you can ensure your home is safe even when you’re gone.

After making major (i.e. expensive) purchases, don’t dump the packaging out front if your next scheduled garbage pick-up is several days away. Doing so is like giving a burglar an invitation to target your home; he or she will know there is something good inside.

You can instead get key-less locks which require a code. You can even install these locks yourself or have them professionally installed.

Keep curtains pulled tight when you aren’t at home. Intruders can look into your home if the blinds are left up.You should also have them drawn while you are sleeping.

When moving into a house, ensure that each lock has been replaced. It may seem as if the former owners of the home are honest, but really you don’t know much about them. Bear in mind that other people may have lived in the home before the previous owner.

Don’t hide keys in obvious places. It is easy to find fake rock. The first place an intruder will check under the mat before anything else. A better plan is to ask someone you trust to keep your emergency key. If you can’t, be creative with your hiding spot.

Anyone can easily get your date of birth from a Facebook profile or your house.

Always ask for references before letting a contractor or a maid in your home. It wouldn’t hurt to also perform a background check. You never really know if you can trust a service person, and giving access to the wrong one can prove disastrous.

Think about hard-wired system if you have concerns about long term maintenance costs. It can also be pretty expensive to replace many different batteries.

Secure your true valuables that are truly irreplaceable. Some of these items can include legal documents, jewelry, financial records, and priceless family photos. A floor safe could be a good place for you to keep these items within the home. You can also rent out a bank safe deposit box.

Criminals are much less likely to target your home if it’s well lit. That’s because they want to remain hidden. Good lighting in your home means that crooks have no hiding places. At night, keep your lights turned on to boost security.

You never want to make it easy for folks to peer into your window. If someone has the intention to burglarize your neighborhood, they might target you. Make sure and minimize what is visible to the public so as to reduce the likelihood of being robbed at a target.

Because of all the threats to a home, every homeowner should take steps in protecting it as much as possible. The ideas in this article will keep your residence protected. Use the above tips to make your home more secure.

You want the security company to actually come to your house and install the system according to your needs. All homeowners and homes differ. Most companies will create an individual plan to meet your needs so you can have a high level of security to assure your peace of mind.