Do you have good dead bolts on all your doors? Strong latches on your windows? Are you diligent about keeping doors and windows locked? Do you have a barky dog?
If you can answer “yes” to the first three questions, you’re way ahead when it comes to home security (and you get extra credit if it’s a yes for the dog). Despite what thriller movies might suggest, most burglars enter homes by simply opening unlocked doors or windows — or pushing and kicking locked ones until they open. Very few pick locks or circumvent alarm systems. Intruders prefer empty homes, visual obscurity, silence, easy entry and quick exits. So your primary objective when planning home security is to beef up your locks and latches and maintain good habits.
You can also DIY a system by using home security components controlled by a smartphone app or similar interface. Dozens of companies sell options that can easily connect to smart home hubs.
All this competition and choice means lower prices. Having a home security service professionally install a system will set you back $750 to $3,000, plus $1,500 or more each year for monitoring. Instead, you can assemble a basic DIY system for $400 or less and then pay as little as $200 per year to have it monitored — or nothing if you manage it yourself. Keep in mind, though, that many people get annoyed by the alerts that self-monitoring requires and end up turning them off or not replacing batteries when they run out. If this sounds like you, don’t waste your money on the tech.
Here’s what you need to know.
11 simple steps to a more secure home
- Secure the perimeter. Make your doors and windows as difficult to penetrate as possible. Although intruders prefer unlocked doors and windows, many can quickly and almost silently pry open locked ones. Some break a pane of glass so they can reach in and unlock the window or door. Only a few really determined burglars break out enough glass to walk or crawl through, or bash in a well-secured door, and they seldom try to pick locks.
- Get a security audit. Most police departments provide free advice and will send someone to evaluate your home for weaknesses.
- Lose lousy locks. Key-in-the knob locks are inadequate. Install good dead bolt locks on all your exterior doors.
- Secure sliding glass doors. The locks on sliding glass doors are notoriously flimsy — many doors can be lifted right off their tracks. Numerous how-to videos online can show you how to make yours more secure, or you can pay a locksmith to install reinforcements.
- Replace weak doors. Solid-wood doors are much sturdier than hollow ones. Many homeowners in high-crime neighborhoods install metal bar doors.
- Secure your windows. Depending on the type of window, you can take steps to make it more resistant to a prying attack. Double-hung windows, for example, can be secured by screwing together the two frames. Most intruders are not keen on breaking glass, but it still happens often enough to justify concern. For the highest level of protection, the window should have unbreakable glazing or steel bars across it.
- Keep valuables out of sight. Place articles of ostensible value out of the view of anyone at your front door or looking through your windows from the street. Stash cash and expensive jewelry in unlikely places — for example, in a large envelope or among many paper files. Select containers no one will accidentally discard.
- Rent a safe-deposit box. Such a box may be inconvenient, but it provides a level of security against theft and fire that cannot be duplicated at home without spending several thousand dollars.
- Keep your landscaping in check. Doors and windows hidden by garages, bushes, fences and trees are attractive targets for intruders who prefer to invade unseen.
- Light it up. Many burglars will flee if they activate an outdoor light connected to a motion detector.
- Keep track of your keys. An AirTag keychain is a good idea if you’re forgetful.
Safety goes beyond physical security
- Evaluate your insurance. Consider adding replacement-cost coverage for your personal property to your homeowner’s insurance policy. If burglars clean out your home, this optional coverage could save you thousands of dollars. Consider taking out additional coverage if you own expensive jewelry and other items that exceed the lower limits under standard policies.
- Get to know your neighbors. Neighborhood watch groups are one of the most effective ways to protect all the homes in your neighborhood. At the very least, get to know your neighbors and share information on your not-at-home schedules and vacation plans, so everyone can look out for suspicious activities.
- Keep up appearances. Because most burglars strike when no one is home, make sure your house always appears occupied. Leaving lights and a TV on helps. If you go on vacation, work with neighbors or friends to prevent mail and packages from piling up and to keep your yard maintained.
When home security devices may not be worth the cost
- You live in a low-crime neighborhood.
- Your house is well-secured with locks and other measures.
- Someone is almost always at home.
- Your neighbors keep an eye on your house and will call the police if they notice anything suspicious.
- You possess little of substantial value that could be stolen, and you have good insurance.
- Children, houseguests or others are likely to frequently trigger false alarms.
- The hassle of setting the alarm and avoiding false alarms would deter you from using it regularly.
Still want a professionally installed system?
If you decide to go pro, you’ll want a company that ensures your system is effective, convenient and unobtrusive; minimizes false alarms; and controls costs.
Have several companies come to your home to propose systems and quote prices. Some will be much better than others at designing a smart solution at a reasonable price. Even for the same basic setup, you will find substantial price differences. When Checkbook’s undercover shoppers collected proposals from companies for a specific alarm system and three years of monitoring, they were quoted prices ranging from $2,360 to $5,202.
Read the contract before you sign. Some companies make it very difficult for customers to switch monitoring services by refusing to provide programming codes or to reset systems to their default modes. Choose a company willing to contractually agree to provide you programming codes.
Discuss payment terms. The more you can pay after the job is complete, the better. The best arrangement is to pay a chunk of the installation price 15 or 30 days after completion: It gives you maximum leverage if any problems need to be corrected.
Many jurisdictions require homeowners to register alarm systems. The company you use should provide the required paperwork, and many will submit it for you. Some registrations must be renewed every few years.
Kevin Brasler is executive editor of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook and Checkbook.org, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help consumers get the best service and lowest prices. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the service providers it evaluates. You can access Checkbook’s home-security ratings and advice free until Aug. 5 at Checkbook.org/WashingtonPost/security.
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