This summer, keep your home and belongings safe from intruders with the following tips, courtesy of Real Estate Ink, a full-service boutique brokerage in Melbourne, FL.
- Activate a home security system. In some cases, you can remotely arm and disarm your system, locks, and lighting through computers and phone apps.
- Disconnect the power for electronics, but leave the A/C on.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to water plants, feed pets, and pick up the package deliveries and newspapers. (Or you could stop the mail delivery.)
- Ask a trusted neighbor to place your trash containers out for pick-up (and replace when empty).
- Lock and fasten all your doors, windows, fences, and home access points (including pet doors). Don’t forget the garage, and unplug the power to your automatic garage door.
- Consider leaving a few blinds open, but keep expensive valuables invisible from street view.
- Ask a trusted neighbor to park in your driveway every so often.
- Don’t lose track of your keys, and don’t hide any outside your front door.
- Maintain your scheduled lawn maintenance if out of town for several or more days.
- Use exterior lights that run on timers, or keep the perimeter lighted with low-voltage lighting. This makes it look like you’re at home.
- Don’t leave an “away on vacation” message on your answering machine, and don’t share vacation information on social networking sites.
At Real Estate Ink, we know that buying and selling are very important transactions that will affect you for years to come. You want a team you can trust, and we stand behind our pledge to make sure you’re happy with the services we render. We walk you through the entire process of listing or buying your property, and making sure you understand the process.