How can you protect your home from burglars? I have six tips to help you today.
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There is a burglary about every 20 seconds in the United States. Today, I have a few tips to help you prevent your home from becoming a target.
There are six main things that burglars don’t want you to know:
1. Burglaries don’t always happen at night. That’s what we see in the movies, but the majority of burglaries happen between 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. The last thing the criminal wants to do is run into you. Protecting yourself in the middle of the day is most important.
2. They know when you’re not home thanks to social media. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, don’t post exactly where you are if you are out of the house or on vacation. They recently caught a burglar who hit 33 different homes. He simply watched his targets on social media and looked at the location when they posted a picture to determine whether the family was home or not. Be careful when posting photos, and don’t make a status update about your week-long vacation.
3. They don’t like your security practices. If there is an easily identifiable alarm system for your home, then your home is 300% less likely to be targeted. Floodlights, leaving a car in the driveway, leaving a TV on, and turning on the lights inside all help deter burglars.
4. Great targets advertise their weapon supply. Is there a bumper sticker on your car that says you own a weapon? There are a lot of burglars out there who are incentivized to steal weapons because they can sell them for a lot of money. Advertising your weapons can actually make you more of a target rather than deterring burglaries.
5. Shrubs and architecture make great hiding spots. If you have big shrubs in front of your house that someone can hide behind to get into your house, that’s not good. The more open your landscaping is, the less likely it is for someone to try to break into your home because a neighbor might spot them from the street. If you do want to plant something in front of your window, make sure that it’s something thorny that they won’t want to jump through to get to your home.
6. Don’t leave your valuables out in the open. A lot of the time, these criminals look through the windows to see if there are any laptops or stuff that’s easily accessible for them to go after. Put your valuables away. I also recommend hiding family calendars because those can advertise where you are going to be.
Don’t advertise your location on social media.
I hope you found these tips helpful. I have something else to offer you today—one of my mentors and coaches, Steve Scanlon, just published his second book, “Still the Lizard.” It is an amazing read that explains what the lizard brain is and how it works.
If you want a free copy, be the first one to email me with the four traits of the lizard brain. (Hint: The answer can be found at www.rewireinc.com.)
As always, if you have any other real estate questions for me, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!
