It really is exciting to go home buying and no doubt you have a long list of “must haves” when choosing your next residence. What you may want to add to this is paying attention to a new homes potential for security strengths and weaknesses.

Burglars also have a list of “must haves” when they are looking for their home to break into. By knowing what these may be you can possibly avoid being on their next target list.

Everyone is Away:

Perhaps you are house hunting in a new area which means you will be away from your current home for awhile. A for sale sign on the front lawn that is not being maintained at the moment can be a drawing card for a break in artist. If this away from home for a period of time for any reason is a situation you are in then take some extra precautions. Have somebody maintain the exterior of the home for you, and check on it regularly.

The light situation:

You may be thinking that by leaving a few lights on in your home while you are away is a good deterrent. This is true but if a thief is surveying your home for a few nights he will soon determine that the same lights are always on and never turned off. A good indicator that nobody is there. You may want to put the lights on a timer or even better still have a fake tv system installed. These are easy to install and are not expensive. They are effective enough that the thief won’t know for sure if somebody is in the house or not.

Your new home:

Burglars really favor houses that don’t have a lot going on around them by way of activity and traffic. If you are scouting out a home in a quiet neighborhood be aware of this. Cul-de-sacs fit this criteria perfectly in a lot of cases. If there are no barking dogs in the area, very little traffic, and lots of bushes and trees on the property then these are all favorable conditions for a would be thief. That doesn’t mean that if you have found the perfect home for you yet it is fitting into this criteria that you should avoid buying it. It just means that these are areas that demand some security correction.

Reducing the hiding spots for possible thieves, buying a dog, or even relying on Rex the automated dog, and having a good security system installed are all great security measures you can take to reduce the vulnerability of your new home.