Keeping Your Home Safe Even in the Safest Neighborhoods

My sister-in-law recently moved into a beautiful, nice-sized house with her eleven-year-old daughter. The house is an old-fashioned brick home in a big, lovely neighborhood. She chose the house for herself and her daughter because the real estate agent assured her that it was one of the safest neighborhoods in the city. Apparently it had broken records for safety; however, two weeks ago, the house was broken into, and though my sister-in-law wasn’t home at the time, she lost her plasma TV, her antique jewelry, some clothes, a giant DVD collection, an 18th-century Bible, and her daughter’s laptop and iPod.

I asked her what sort of home security she had on her home, and I was surprised to hear that she’d had none. I was so surprised that I tried to use the story on my friends as a “Can you believe she had no security?” type thing, only to come to realize that almost all of my friends had the same response – they don’t use a home security system, either.

This prompted me to write about the best top security devices out there. Please take them into consideration. You could live in the safest neighborhood around, like my sister-in-law, and still get everything ripped out of your hands.

• Wireless systems. These protect your home without the fuss of wires and cords. Burglars won’t be able to disarm the security system at all, seeing as there won’t be any wires to cut.

• Extra keypads. You can also get devices to help control the system at a distance, like a car alarm on your keychain.

• Old-fashioned yard signs and window decals. This might sound silly or unattractive, but yard signs anddecals that say “Beware of Dog,” or “Home Security System Protected” have proven to prevent burglars, even if you don’t have a dog or a system.

• Sensors on windows and doors will let you know immediately if a burglar is entering your home.

• Motion Detectors. These devices are among the best types of protection you can get. There are also brands that allow for pet movement.

• An oldie but a goodie: a master control panel is imperative to any home alarm system. It receives information from all other sensors and key pads in your home, computes it, and transmits information to the monitoring company.

• Once you have the security system(s) of your choice, a backup power supply is necessary to make sure your home is still protected in the event of a power outage.

Keep all security systems repaired and up-to-date, including smoke detectors in your home. Having a good security system and/or smoke detector can help get you discounts on your home insurance policy so that you can save extra money.

Eastern Insurors is an independent insurance agency in the Midland Park, New Jersey area. To learn more about home insurance and protection, contact them today.