9 Tips To Help You Protect Your Home When Taking Long Trips

An easy and quick way to keep watch over your home while you are on vacation is to have a trusted friend or family member sit for you. Stock up the refrigerator with foods and treats and set up your house guest for a carefree, overseeing experience while you’re away. 

If you can’t find someone to stay overnight at your residence, consider requesting them to drive past and check on your house a few times while you’re out of town. They can text you to make you aware of the security of the property.

A quick way to compromise the security of your home while on vacation is to post in-depth details about your travel dates and plans on social media. 

While it may be exciting to share deets about your upcoming trip with your online followers, shy away from posting exact dates you’ll be away from your home. This prevents you from tipping off a prospective thief that you’re home and belongings are unprotected.

Although this may seem like common sense, you’ll be surprised how many people forget to lock their doors and windows. Before heading out to your destination, be sure to check every door and window in your home to ensure it is fully locked. Locks falter sometimes, so make after locking that you test the security of the entrance to make sure it stays closed.

A Ring doorbell camera allows you to see exactly what’s happening at your front door. When on your trip, you can log into the app to view what’s going on in front of your home in real-time. 

This is great if you’re expecting any packages while you’re away or if neighborhood kids have a nasty case of Ding Dong Ditch. In either case, a video doorbell system adds another level of security while you’re away.

An alarm system is always handy when it comes to protecting your home, whether you’re on vacation or just going out to the grocery store. With an alarm system, you can set it to away mode so any intrusion will immediately notify you and the local authorities. 

Some alarm system companies even offer surveillance cameras that you can set up within your home to view in real-time what’s going on in your house.

Just in case a burglar does come into your home while you’re gone, it’s best you store away your valuables and cash, so it can’t be easily found and stolen. This could include putting valuable items out of sight, as well as investing in a home safe to store important items and documents.

Take the extra time to stow away your valuables, so they can’t be easily taken if intruders come.

You’ll be surprised how many people think someone is home when the lights are on. While you’re on vacation, consider leaving one light on in your house that’s visible from the outside. 

This can aid in tricking potential burglars into thinking that the home is occupied even though no one is home. You also should leave on your porch lights to give the appearance that someone is inside the empty residence.

If you trust and have a good relationship with one of your neighbors, you can give them a heads-up that you’ll be gone on vacation and ask if they’d be willing to keep an eye out on your home while you’re gone. It never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes on your home while you’re on vacation to keep a lookout for anything suspicious or out of place. 

Make sure your neighbor has your contact information so they can reach you if anything happens to your residence while you are away.

Having renters or homeowners insurance is important because it protects you and your assets in case of your home being burglarized or if items are damaged due to floods or fire while you are away. Depending on your policy, this insurance will reimburse you for losses incurred if any of these things happen. Without it, you would face a total loss. 

Research renters and homeowners and find a policy within your budget that works for you to protect yourself from future losses.