Six security tips when moving house
9th September 2018
It’s a horrible thought, that you finally buy your dream house… only to be burgled within weeks of moving in. Here are our six top tips to help you beat the criminals and protect your new home:
- On moving-in day itself, don’t encourage opportunist theft when you take your belongings inside. As you shuttle between your car and your house, leaving one or the other unattended, don’t leave the boot or the front door open.
- Think like a criminal (just briefly!), ask yourself which parts of your home and garden would look vulnerable to a burglar, then act quickly to resolve those issues. Repair damaged areas of your property, including perimeter weaknesses, such as gaps in garden fencing, that might look like inviting points of entry or escape to a criminal.
- Check the existing security measures work, from the burglar alarm to outside lighting activated by motion sensors. Make sure you know the code for the security alarm. You don’t want to be standing there helpless in the middle of the night if, for example, a power cut causes the alarm siren to sound loudly outside, waking all your new neighbours.
- Find a trustworthy local locksmith. If you’re moving to the north-west of England, you already have!
- Change the locks on all the doors and gates that access your property. The previous owners are likely to have given spare keys to friends, neighbours and members of their family. However honourable the intention at the time, the result now is that people you have never even met have keys to your home.
- Don’t neglect the garden, which might be overgrown if the house was unoccupied for a while before you moved in. Cut back high vegetation near windows. Trees and shrubbery, for example, can provide cover to a burglar trying to gain access to your home.
Every day, people are moving into lovely houses across the north-west of England, from Skelmersdale to Southport and from Liverpool to all corners of Lancashire. Don’t let a criminal turn your dream move into a nightmare.