8 Steps To Home Security

Whether your home is your primary residence or your second home, you have made a big investment, and if you leave it alone for any length of time, whether for a holiday or a return to your primary home, you deserve to know that everything is in order while you are away, and also that everything will be in order when you arrive back.

You deserve 'Peace Of Mind'.

You are about to take 8 small steps to achieving your Peace Of Mind.

1. Ask someone to check over the property

At the very minimum, you should get someone to look over the property from the outside occasionally. They can move your bins on and off the property, check your doors, windows; look for signs of storm/wind/frost damage; check that there are no packages sitting outside; check for signs of damp or unwelcome smells and basically that everything looks quiet and undisturbed. Check your insurance policy too. Some insurers will want a minimum level of diligence if your house is to be left empty for more than a couple of weeks.

2. Ask someone to check inside the property

The next stage up would be to provide a trusted person with a key to your property. As well as looking over the outside, they could do similar checks on the inside of the property. They could also check for water ingresss or leaks; look for signs of household pests having moved in; move any post away from the door out of sight, and even post mail on to you if you are away for a long time. Packages can also be brought indoors or forwarded on; check that your electrical fuses have not tripped, and that your security system is working properly.

3. Have access to tradesmen

Whoever it is that you ask to look after your home, make sure that they have immediate access to both you and to the local tradesmen. Either the ones that you usually use, or at least to a trusted network of local tradesmen. That way, with your permission, any damage can be fixed as soon as it is detected, and crucially, before more damage is caused.

4.Make sure your home doesn't look empty

Your keyholder can do a lot to help you with this. Pulling curtains and switching lights on and off is a great way to make the house look occupied; although you should be careful not to expose your valuable possessions by leaving things in view. You can buy inexpensive timers for lights which can be programmed to switch on and off. Even a non-keyholder can move a few bits of garden furniture and stuff around to make your garden look recently used. They can also advise you if the garden needs attending to if you don't already have regular arrangements for this.

5.Get security cameras

Burglars are not deterred by alarms anymore. They know many are switched off because of false alarms. Did you know that the Police can refuse to attend a property where the alarm has been tripped falsely more than twice ? As a visual deterrent, cameras are more likely to stop burglars, because they know once they are caught on camera, that's it for them. Internet Video Alarms can replace or supplement your existing security system, allowing you to access a live video feed and verify alarms from anywhere in the world, and to be able to alert the Police at the time a burglary is actually in progress. No more false alarms.

6. Use an inspection service

If you are going to be away from your property for a long time, it may not be enough for you just to know that your home is undamaged. You may also want to know that when you return to it, that the appliances in it are in tip top working order. An inspection service will not only ensure the house and fittings have not been damaged, but they can also check that the fridge/freezer temperatures are optimal, that the oven and dishwasher are still operable; the TV works; the stereo still works etc, replace lightbulbs and batteries in smoke alarms etc. There would be nothing worse to arrive back at your home and have the inconvenience of replacing or repairing items that stopped working while you were away. If asked, the inspection service would also start the heating/set the temperature to a level to prevent damp or frost damage.

7. Maximise your enjoyment time in your home.

If you have been away for a long holiday or you are returning to your second home for the weekend or a prolonged stay, use a key holder to make the house more welcoming for you or your guests. A contracted keyholder will make sure that there are groceries in the fridge and cupboards, flowers if desired, lighting adjusted to taste, temperature as required, cleaning; just about anything you desire. Imagine arrriving on a cold autumn evening and your home feels welcoming and fresh, and everything you asked for is waiting for you.

8. Have someone that you can call on Ad Hoc

A contracted keyholding service can do more than just give you peace of mind about the safety and condition of your home, they can also ensure that you only ever have to have one point of contact should you want anything arranging or fixing or the garden to be blitzed; whether you are at the house or are due to arrive in a few weeks or hours, or if you just left. A contracted keyholding houseminder can arrange for just about anything; log deliveries, meeting furniture deliveries, shipping your forgotten laptop to London by next day, organise a private chef, marquees, fireworks, turn the heating off because you forgot, check your boat is secured on it's mooring. Miracles can possibly be undertaken, but that would depend on your budget.

Easy isn't it? By now you should be thinking that all your worries will have faded away. The next time you head off for the winter and leave your home, or you want to maximise the time spent in your home while you are in it, you now have all the answers. No worries and complete peace of mind.