Holiday Home Security Tips to Protect your Property

During the holiday season, many people travel to visit loved ones, attend events or just to take a vacation. Unfortunately, criminals know this and they wait for this time of the year to strike. This is why holiday home security is so important. Obviously, criminals don’t want to be caught in the act of committing a crime. They would much rather break into a property where no one is at home.

When it comes to holiday home security, it’s important to remember that criminals often scout locations for quite some time in order to make sure that no one is home when they break in. They may even take to social media to see if a potential victim has recently posted about an upcoming vacation. For this reason, it’s wise to avoid making it obvious that you’re traveling. Suitcases tied to the roof of your car, Facebook posts about your trip, and other obvious signs that you’re going away should be avoided. This is important for holiday home security.

Advice to Improve Holiday Home Security

Here are some other holiday home security tips for protecting your home when you’re on vacation.

Make You Home Look Occupied

– There are many simple things that you can do to ensure that criminals don’t realize that you’re not at home. This is crucial for good holiday home security. Setting your lights on timers is a good idea, as is placing a TV or radio on a timer to create some noise. It’s also a good idea to leave your curtains or blinds in the position that you normally do so that criminals won’t realize that anything is different.

Take Care of Chores

– It becomes obvious that no one is home if your snow hasn’t been shovelled and your mail is piling up by your front door. This is bad for holiday home security and can make your home a target. Before you leave, make sure to arrange for someone to take care of these chores. Have someone come by and shovel your snow, clean off your car and handle any other chores that need to be completed. Contact the post office and have them suspend your mail while you’re away and do the same for magazine or newspaper subscriptions.

Check Your Locks and Alarm System

– Before you leave, make sure that all locks on all doors and windows are functioning properly. Test your alarm system as well. You want to make sure these are working properly while you are away to ensure holiday home security.

Consider Smart Home Monitoring

– For added peace of mind and holiday home security, consider installing a smart home monitoring service. These allow you to get instant notifications on a mobile device as soon as there is any trouble at home. If you have your video surveillance cameras monitored, you can even check in on your home from nearly anywhere in the world and view live video. Check out more information on smart home monitoring here.

By following these holiday home security tips, you can drastically reduce the likelihood of a criminal breaking into your property. If you make your home look like a difficult target, most criminals will simply move on and search for something easier. For more information on what you can do to protect your property, more holiday home security tips, or for a free risk assessment, please contact one of our experienced loss prevention professionals today.