The Top 5 Tips for Keeping Your Home Safe and Sound in Virginia

Whether you own a property in the state of Virigina or rent it, you want to make sure that your home is as safe as possible. We all deserve to live in peace and quiet, and the right precautions will help us to do so. Here are some of the steps you should take to keep your home as safe as can be.

Know the Changes You Can Make to the Property

If you are renting a property, you need to know what changes you will be able to make to the property itself. There might be  a license tying the hands of your landlord, or they might simply not be happy at the prospect of you making changes without asking for permission first. Landlords in Virginia are treated like many other small business owners throughout the state, but they do need to carry a license to act as your landlord.

As your landlord, they should want to keep you as safe as possible. If you feel like they are not doing enough here, you should make it clear that you want upgrades made to the property. They have to keep the building to code by state law, and so you may be able to persuade them to make changes for this reason.

Have the Right Locks

The quality of lock that you have on your property will make a massive difference in how safe and sound your home is. Many homes have a yale lock on them. These are easy to install and convenient to use, but they do have some drawbacks. If the door shuts behind you, you are shut out of the property unless you have a key or the door is on latch. This type of lock is also relatively easy to break.

A mortise lock is a much better option. It needs to be closed with a key, and is very strong and difficult to break open. You also might want to look into installing  a deadlock. Some Virginian landlords are even taking the precaution of adding keyless locks to their properties. Ideally, your exterior doors should have a range of different locks on them, all working to keep you safe.

Get Insured

Of course, you should also make sure that you have a good  home insurance policy in place. If you are a tenant, you might look into getting renters or contents insurance to help protect your items instead. While this obviously won’t help to actively protect your belongings and prevent them from being stolen, they will help you to replace them. It can even help to protect them in the event of damage caused to the house that then damages the contents. Virginia can face some wild winter storms, and if one compromises your house then your belongings could be affected too. Insurance will help to protect against this.

A good insurance policy can help you out in the event that your home is broken into. Many policies also have clauses for thefts outside the home too. That means that if your laptop or phone is stolen when you are out and about, you might still be covered by your insurance.

Use Your Burglar Alarm

Do you have a burglar alarm? If so, do you use it? So many people don’t switch on their burglar alarms when they leave their homes, and they are therefore obviously missing out on the chance to protect their property. While  Virginia is experiencing a reduction in crime – notably burglaries – you need to make sure that you do everything you can to look after yours, so take the extra 30 seconds to switch on your burglar alarm.

In addition to this, you need to make sure that you are careful in who you give the code out to. Yes, you might trust someone at the moment, but you never know when they might take this as an opportunity to mess with you. If someone with the code falls out of your life, you might wish to consider  changing the code to a new one.

Install Motion Activated Lights

One of the easiest ways to protect your property is with the right deterrent. A major one that you can select is motion-activated lights. When placed by your front door or in your back garden, they can provide an excellent level of security.

They are especially useful at deterring opportunistic thieves. If your house looks empty and quiet, they might decide to risk it. The motion-activated light might be enough to convince them not to try it, and to move on.

These are five of the best tips you should follow to keep your home as safe as possible. Everyone deserves to be as safe as can be in their own homes. The above steps might be a vital part of keeping your property as secure as can be. If you are lacking in any areas, you should consider rectifying this as soon as possible, to help make your home even safer.