5 Tips to Protect Your Home While on Vacation

San Francisco Real Estate Podcast with Durwin Cheung

If you're leaving your house for a vacation, it's important to keep it safe while you're away. I have five tips to stave off unwanted visitors to your home while you're gone.

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If you leave your home for vacation, there are five main things you should do with your home to keep it safe:

1. Get a WiFi doorbell. With these smart doorbells, you can see anyone who rings your doorbell on your smartphone. If it's someone you don't want at your front door, you can communicate that to them through the doorbell, too. That way, they'll never know that you're not home. You can get one for about $200.

2. Make sure your home is well-lit, especially the exterior. I recommend having motion sensor lighting installed outside as well. They're not too expensive; you can find them at The Home Depot for less than $30. This way, if thieves walk by your house, it will trigger the lights on. Statistics show that well-lit homes don't get broken into as often as unlit ones do.

3. Let your neighbors know you'll be gone. This way, they can look after your house while you're away. They'll be more sensitive to anything that's going on in or around your house like lighting and noises.

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An overstuffed mailbox is the number one sign to burglars that you're not home.

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4. Make sure your mailbox doesn't fill up or overflow. If you're gone for an extended period of time, mail piling up is the first sign to burglars that your home is empty. You can ask your neighbors to get your mail or call the post office to suspend delivery while you’re out.

5. Make sure your doors and windows are locked. This sounds obvious, but people simply forget to do it. Statistics show that more than 30% of homes that get broken into aren't really broken into; they are unforced entries.

Hopefully you find these tips helpful if you're planning on traveling for the holidays or anytime soon. If you have any more questions for me, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to help you!