Whether you are going away in the summer time or the winter time for a vacation it is always important to make sure that your home is looked after while you are away. In fact it is the single biggest asset that most people have. Why shouldn’t you make sure that it is well looked after while you are away relaxing and enjoying yourself. Most people feel really violated if their home is broken into while they are away. It is time to prep your home for summer vacation. Make your home looked lived in while you are not there. There will be less chances of a break in while you are gone.
Prep Your Home for Summer Vacation
Make your home look lived in while you are away. Place various lights on timers so that the standard lights in rooms that you use while you are there come on and turn off just the same as if you were living there. Make sure all of the windows are securely locked. Place a bar in the sliding glass door so that it cannot be pried open.
Install automatic lights and an alarm system. The lights should come on at dusk and off at dawn at the front of your home. Also the back and at any side doors. Use photo sensors and fluorescent lights. Or the new LED’s and they will not use much in the way of electricity. They also last a long time as well. The alarm system should really be monitored. But sometimes just having the alarm go off is enough to scare away anyone who is thinking about robbing you.
Check the locks to all of your doors and windows to make sure they are all closed and secure. No sense in making it easy for someone to break into your home. Place a bar across the bottom of the sliding glass door if you have one to prevent the door being pried open.
Hold All Deliveries
Put a hold on newspaper and magazine deliveries. News papers and flyers building up around your door is a sure way to let people know that no one is home. If you do not want to cancel the paper, arrange for a neighbor to pick them up for you. They can keep them until you come home.
Don’t let mail pile up, have close friends, neighbors or family pick it up. Lots of mail in the mail box is another sign that no one is home as well. If you are gone for a long time you may want a family member to go through the mail and open some of it and then review it with you over the phone.
Hire someone to mow the lawn and trim the shrubs if you are gone a long time. Most neighbors want the street to look nice as well and an unkempt place is another advertisement that no one is around.
Hire someone to clear the snow if you are going to be away in the winter time. We know this is about summer vacations, however we wanted to stick this in here as a reminder that regardless of when you leave, home owners must make sure that their home is looked after at all times of the year.
Hire someone to check the home while you are away. Check with your insurance company to find out how often you need to have someone actually come into the home and verify that everything is ok. Then arrange for a friend, a family member or a professional company to come and check that the power is on, there is no leaking water and there are no breakings.