Investing a couple of extra bucks can make serious changes when it comes to your home security. Being a homeowner comes with certain responsibilities, and securing your home from external factors is definitely one of them. Although decorating your home is all fun and games, setting up security systems and thinking about the home warranty should find their place on the list of priorities. Hence, we have made a list of things you can do to to protect your home and as well as make your home a safer place.
- Home Warranty
Let us start from the top. Getting a house warranty is one of the first things you should do when buying a new home. Also, if you are already a homeowner without a warranty, then you should set up your plan as soon as possible. A home warranty is a service contract between a provider and homeowner that covers repair costs on selected home items, including major appliances and home systems (such as air conditioning). Home warranties typically cover routine wear and tear. The thing is that home warranties, depending on the plan, protect electrical, plumbing, and heating systems.
In this line, home warranty prices depend on the same factor. A good point about these plans is that you can even make your own by taking out the things included and adding the ones you want to be covered by the warranty. The aim of these is to keep you on the safe side in case of some unpredicted catastrophe.
- Secure Your Front Door
Your front door is the first line of defense for your home, and you must keep it as secure as possible. Most probably, you do not want burglars to simply stroll through your front door, and a huge number of them, even 34%, do this very thing. So, if you are moving to a house that someone else called home before you, you need to change the door locks. This way, you will avoid the scenario of strangers roaming all over your house. Besides, you should inspect all the other exterior doors and make sure that the frames and locks are strong enough to sustain violent break-ins. Some of the things you can do to secure your door further are to install ring bells with cameras, add strike plates, or even upgrade your front door with smart locks.
- Light Up Your Yard
Burglars, vandals, and other criminals are not fans of the spotlight. They prefer darkness. Thus, lighting up your yard and making it bright will keep the burglars far away from your front door. You should place the lights in front of your front door, along pathways, near the garage, in the backyard, and in all the places where potential break-ins may occur. There are a couple of lighting systems you can use for these purposes. Motion-activated lights are an absolute banger when it comes to sudden surprises.
- Garage Is Part of the House As Well
The garage is one of the most popular entry points for burglars, so make sure it is secured properly. Moreover, if they cannot reach your house through the garage, they have a whole bunch of interesting stuff in the garage. The most important thing is to make a habit of locking interior and exterior garage doors. If your garage door is automated, then you should keep the garage opener in the house, so that burglars can not simply snatch it from your car. Also, if you use a passcode for the smart lock, then you should keep it secret and never type it in front of neighbors, delivery people, or anyone else. Additionally, you can upgrade your garage door by using a smart garage door opener, covering windows so that your goodies are not on display, and installing a driveway alarm.
- Secure Your Wi-Fi Network
Not all break-ins are physical. Your Wi-Fi network is the doorway to all of your personal and financial information, and if you use home automation, you must make sure that your Wi-Fi network is well-secured. Additionally, if your Wi-Fi is connected to the home’s gadgets or security systems, then this will give criminals a shortcut to breaking into your home. Some of the things you can do are secure your router, enable WPA, or just hide your network.
- Security Cameras
Last but not least, security cameras are one of the most popular security systems you can get to protect your home. Nowadays, there are tiny security cameras that can catch burglars and make perfect footage despite their almost invisible size. However, beware that cameras may be targeted by hackers. Therefore, make sure to protect them from digital attacks.
Having a nice and decorated home is not enough. You must keep your home protected from all the bad scenarios that can seriously affect your budget and your family’s security. Hence, the previously mentioned security measures may help you make your home a safer place.