Living In A Rental Home Or Apartment? What Are Your Best Security Options?
If you live alone in a rented apartment or single-family home, you may be wondering whether installing a monitored security system would provide you with that extra bit of safety when you need it most. However, you may be reluctant to invest money in a hard-wired security system for a home or apartment you don't own (if your lease even permits you to install a security system without prior approval). Fortunately, there are a number of wireless security options that can easily come with you to your next home -- whether you purchase or continue renting. Read on to learn more about the best security options for renters.
What steps should you take to deter unauthorized entry before investing in a security system?
Even the most state-of-the-art home security system won't prevent a burglar from walking through an unlocked front door or climbing through an open window. If you aren't already in the habit of locking all your home's doors (both while you're at home and when you leave), you'll want to start now. Keeping your windows securely locked is also a good idea, even if you're not on the ground level -- an experienced burglar can lean a ladder against the side of your apartment building and push your window open from the outside within just a few seconds.
You'll also want to make friends with your neighbors -- or, if past experience has limited this as a possibility, at least be on good enough speaking terms to let them know when you plan to be out of town for a few days. The advent of social media has been a boon for tech-savvy burglars who are now able to see that a home or apartment's resident is out of state (or out of the country), giving them days to carefully plan a burglary. If your neighbors are aware that your home is supposed to be unoccupied and notice strange visitors, they may be able to step in or at least notify the police before your household possessions are carted away.
What are your best security system options?
One option that can be perfect for renters and requires no hard-wiring is a cellular security system with window and door alarms. By equipping sensors to the windows and doors you want to keep secure and connecting them to an alarm powered by your cellular network, you'll hear a piercing alarm or even get a text message alerting you whenever someone attempts access. You may opt to connect this system to a central monitoring service that will automatically call the police or fire department on your behalf or stick with the alarms by themselves as a sufficient deterrent to would-be burglars.
This security system has one advantage over both hard-wired and wireless security systems -- it will remain activated even during power outages, when other security systems are rendered powerless. And by pairing these cellular alarms with battery-powered, motion-activated security cameras, you'll be able to capture video footage of the person or people attempting to break in. Because these cameras are activated upon movement, they use very little power, allowing the batteries to last for months or even years before they require replacement.
A final security option for apartment- or rental home-dwellers that won't provide any direct protection but may be enough of a deterrent for all but the most dedicated burglars is a motion-activated dog alarm. This alarm is triggered by anyone walking too close to your home's doors or windows, setting off a loud, intimidating bark -- and as long as you let your landlord know about your alarm, you won't need to worry about any additional pet rental rates.
You may be concerned about the security of wireless video feeds -- especially ones that display more private areas of your home -- from unauthorized access, particularly with news stories about baby monitor feeds being hacked and allowing creeps or potential predators to see or even speak to children. Fortunately, it's relatively simple to encrypt your wireless video feeds so that they're unable to be compromised. You'll also want to use an ultra-secure password to access any feeds from your computer browser or an app, utilizing a mixture of letters, numbers, and special characters if possible. Just like other burglars, technologically-adept burglars are going to go for the lowest-hanging fruit when it comes to choosing a mark, so taking a few quick steps can increase your security. Contact a company like American Wireless Alarm Inc for more info.