Your home security checklist

Selecting the right security system for your home can be a challenge, given the bewildering array of products available in store and online.

Follow these tips to create your own list of priorities so you don’t overspend or buy a solution that doesn’t make you feel safer.

Avoid confrontation

Let’s highlight the most crucial recommendation first: Never approach a burglar, whether they’re in your home in the middle of the night, or you interrupt them when you return home. Always phone the police. 

Low-budget approach

Update doors and window locks, ensuring you have duplicate keys. Unless you’re handy, it’s best to hire a local locksmith to get the job done correctly. Removing locks can be tricky, and you want to avoid damaging the surrounding wooden frames.

Do your research

Security technology, particularly surveillance cameras and app-enabled alarms, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Understanding how these solutions can protect your property adequately is essential.

Level of advice

Expert assistance should focus on security gaps in and around your home and lifestyle. You’ll better understand what you want to protect as well as decide on the level of security that is not only necessary but practical.

Monitoring services

Decide whether you want to use a company that offers a back-to-base system. There are many advantages and a few drawbacks. Occasionally, an alarm will fire for no apparent reason, and the company will charge you for an in-person response. 

Use stickers

If you have either a third-party monitoring system or a self-installed system, you should place stickers on windows and at the gate to inform potential burglars of the security protecting your home. It’s an excellent deterrent.