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How to Keep Your Home Safe This Season

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How to Keep Your Home Safe This Season

There’s nothing worse than coming home from vacation only to find your home is been violated. There are ways to stay safe even if you’re not to be home this season. You want to protect your home and with the holidays approaching, break-ins are more common than ever. We hear nearly every day of people getting packages stolen off of their porches or news stories about a burglary. There are ways to avoid vacation violators this season.

#1. Get to know your neighbors.

If you don’t already know your neighbors, now would be a great time to build some trust, maybe meet a new friend and develop a bond that can protect both you and them. Now would be a great time to take them a plate of cookies and introduce yourself. While you’re doing that, you might also suggest keeping an eye on each other’s property and if enough trust develops, set up an arrangement to have them help you bring in the trash or collect packages if they see them on your front porch to save them for later. If you develop enough trust, you can let them know that you’re going to be away for certain amount of time and to keep a special eye out for any suspicious activity.

#2. Have automatic lights.

Set up automatic motion sensor lights on the outside of your home. Burglars won’t know that their automated and may be enough to scare them away should they come on in the middle of the night.

#3. Hold any mail or package delivery until your home.

You can simply notify the post office that you’re going to be gone for a certain amount of time and to simply hold all the packages until you return.

#4. Leave the Car in the Garage

If you’re planning on leaving a car at home, park it in the garage so that it is not a temptation for burglars to break into while you’re away. Also, take any extra keys with you just in case there is a break-in.

#5. Be proactive and take pictures of valuable items

Take pictures of items in each room making note of it and its value. This is simply a way to protect yourself if something should happen.

Related: 10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe From Burglars 

#6. Request a signature for all delivered packages.

The UPS has a program called UPS My Choice, and it allows customers to receive an email or text before a package arrives. Take advantage of tracking and delivery alerts to be notified when a package has been delivered.

#7. Invest in an alarm system.

It not only protects your home in case of a fire or a break-in but simply having the sign in the front yard is enough of a deterrent to any would-be burglars. Nest, Ring, and others offer great protection.

#8. Trim away any large trees or bushes

Trim bushes by interior or exterior windows and doors. Most of these should be below 3 feet to keep visual clearance.

#9. Conceal exterior wiring.

It’s been known that burglars will look for ways to cut the electricity in order to remove lights and security systems.

#10. Get a four-legged security system.

Dogs are some of the best ways to deter burglars and sometimes simply leaving out a doormat that says “beware of dog” even if you don’t have a dog can be enough of a deterrent.

We want you to stay safe this holiday season and by the simple tips and tricks, you can protect your home whether you’re there or not. Have a great holiday!

Thanks for being such valuable customers and friends this year! From our house to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Great Tips for Buyers and Sellers:

10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe From Burglars

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10 Ways to Keep Your Home Safe From Burglars

Obviously we want to lock up our homes and keep our possession safe but there are extra things you can do to keep your home safe from bandits, burglars, and anyone looking to cause mischief. Here are 10 simple ways to keep your home safe from burglars.

#1. High-tech doorbell.

These new doorbells by Ring are a great way to keep your home safe and videotape any suspicious behavior. They connect to your phone so you can see who’s at your front door or activity going on in your neighborhood. It also connects with neighbors that have similar devices so you can share if there’s been suspicious activity or a suspicious person, package stealer, or just what’s going on in the neighborhood when you’re not around.

#2. Double-check before leaving the house.

It can be stressful when you’re in a rush to leave on vacation or for the holidays but make sure you have a checklist of things to verify before leaving the house. Go through every door and window in the house making sure they are locked, secure, and if you’re going to be gone for a long period of time, put a stick or board in the tracks of sliding windows and doors.

#3. Know your neighbors.

If you’re planning on being out of town for long periods of time, get to know your neighbors so they can keep an eye on your home when you’re not around. If you trust them and they know you’re gone for several days or even weeks, they’re more likely to pay attention if they see suspicious activity near your home.

#4. Have someone collect the mail.

If you have an open mailbox were people can see if the mail has not been collected, have a friend or neighbor collector mail every couple of days.

#5. Don’t have burglar friendly landscaping.

Bushes and trees close to the house or Windows are prime places for burglars to hide. Once you cut away all of these bushes, you make it a little bit harder for someone to sneak up.

#6. Have motion sensor or timed lights.

Keeping motion sensor lights on backdoors, garages, side entrances, or dark spots in your house is a great way to deter burglars. You can also time the lights when you’re gone for long periods of time so they come on at night and go off in the morning making it look like someone is home.

#7. Pretend like someone’s home.

You don’t necessarily need a cardboard cutout in the window of a person but you can actually buy Fake TV, which throws colored lights up against the walls and mimics the TV being on but uses a lot less electricity.

#8. Turn down or turn off your phone ringer.

Most of us nowadays have cell phones but for those that still have a landline, turn off the phone ringer or turn it down so that it doesn’t just a ring constantly indicating someone’s not home.

#9. Don’t post on social media that you’re gone.

Seriously, just wait until you get back.

#10. Have a security system.

This is the most obvious one, but a security system that you can set and monitor while your home, away, or can be monitored by a professional, is really one of the best ways to protect your home not just from burglars but from fire or natural disasters as well.

We want you to have a safe and protected home and remember, anytime you’re buying or selling real estate around Sunset Beach North Carolina give us a call.

More Good Stuff for Homeowners:

4 Ways to Keep Your House Pest-Free

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Many of us are heading back to our homes and many stayed and weathered the storm. Regardless, you may have some cleanup, and during that time, rodents and other pests may have found shelter in your home. This prompted this post today because we’ve talked to a lot of our neighbors that are dealing with rodents and pests in their homes seeking shelter after the hurricane. But how do we prevent these pests in the first place and what do we do once we have them?4 Ways to Keep Your House Pest-Free

Here are 4 Ways to Keep Your House Pest-Free

Keep the home clean.

Obviously, cockroaches and other pests gravitate toward dirtier homes but it doesn’t necessarily mean your home is dirty if you find a pest or two. This could mean a wayward roach, wondering mouse, or a curious rat. But, keeping your home clean is a great way to start. Keep pet food containers sealed and closed, seal off or put screens on roof vents to prevent rats and birds from making nests, and pick up any fruit that may have fallen off of fruit trees around your area. Pests will come where there is food and water and if they’re finding both of these items out in the open on your property, the more you’re going to have.

Stay on top of it.

Being a proactive homeowner can keep pests at bay. Termites are one of the most common type of past for homes in it typically enters the home by constructing mud tubes on the foundation. These termites can get into the attic, the walls, foundation, and insulation causing havoc wherever they go. Simply staying on top of these potential infestations can keep them at bay. Check for beehives underneath eaves, in the walls of your garage, or through cracks in stucco, under decks, and siding. If you see one or two aunts, there’s probably thousands more. Follow them to see where they’re going or where they’re coming from and spray around the foundation of your home at least twice a year.

Seal of the house.

Ceiling your home is one of the best ways to keep all types of pests out. This could mean blocking off common entry points, caulking gaps in stucco and around doors, window screens, and window frames and cutting off any easy entries to the home for crickets, cockroaches, ants, bees, mice, and rodents.

Get a professional opinion.

Talk to a professional pest technician to find out the best way to not only handle current problems but preventative measures that you can do at home. They will tell you what to be looking out for, red flags to be aware of, and what to do when you see a certain type of pests in or around your home.

More For Homeowners:

Simple Ways to Prepare for Bad Weather Along the Coast

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Flash floods, tropical threats and historic landfall… Oh my! Eh, but that’s what we get every once in a while in South Carolina. It’s not too bad, but being prepared and understanding our weather patterns can help you be more comfortable when bad weather hits. If you’re moving to this area or relocating you might want to understand how our weather pattern works.  We experience a subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters. July is usually the hottest of the year and January the lowest temperatures. Simple Ways to Prepare for Bad Weather Along the Coast

Tornado season is in early spring and hurricane season can last from late August through October. But that’s not guaranteed. However, it’s a good plan to be prepared.

Related: What you need to know about Hurricanes

Tropical storms can eventually turn into hurricanes if they pick up enough speed and have the right temperatures. One of the best things you can do if you live here is to simply be prepared and stay up-to-date on what’s happening and when it’s supposed to happen. Know your evacuation routes if you’re in low-lying areas to help you reach higher ground.

Keep a list of contact information on emergency contacts such as local hospitals, the American Red Cross, your local radio and TV stations as well as local public safety and law enforcement contacts.

Plan ahead. Many people rush out to the supermarkets and stock up on things that don’t need over the week. The problem with this is that many of our supplies come in on a daily or weekly basis so if everyone goes at once, many times the shelves will be left empty. It’s best to plan ahead and have bottles of water, bags of rice, sand, or other necessities already stocked aside in a Rubbermaid container along with a first aid kit, flashlight and battery-operated radio. You’ll also want to have extra batteries just in case.

Keep your four-legged friends safe as well by having an emergency plan for them. Either have carrying cases or contacts for specific pet owners that might be able to take your pet should there be an emergency.

Be prepared as a family. Know where everyone is supposed to be should there be an emergency. This could be a fire, burglary or natural disaster. Know where everybody is going to be, how to connect with everybody, and how you are to contact each person.

Finally, listen and adhere to the warning signs. Most of the time people are injured or worse when they fail to listen to recommended or mandatory evacuations. Also, wait until an area safe before returning home.

We get very few major storms and hardly any hurricanes make landfall but it’s still best to be prepared. You never know when your power simply might go out or you have damage from a flood. It is raining here and even though we enjoy the lush tropical landscaping, it sometimes can come at a slight price.

Read more: National Hurricane Center

More Good Stuff Below

5 Simple Spring Home Maintenance Tasks

How to Assess Home Damage After a Storm

What to Do After a Hurricane – a Checklist

Should I Be Worried About Erosion When Buying a Beach Home?

What Does Principle Residence Mean?

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What Does Principle Residence Mean?

As a homeowner, there are certain tax breaks and deductions that you can claim, however, these are primarily on your principal residence. So what exactly does that mean and can you deduct anything on rental properties?

In order to qualify for certain tax benefits the home you live in, must be your legal and principal residence. There are interest and tax reductions for investment properties but they fall under different categories.

Here we’re just talking about your principal residence.

Of course, this seems pretty cut and dry; it’s the house in which you live primarily throughout the year but there are differences, certain expectations, and situations where this might be a little bit foggy. If you move out of the house and then rented for sometimes before moving back there are specific facts that are to be determined on a case-by-case basis. If you’ve lived in the home for a number of years without moving out is considered your principal home and residency. This will probably be the address on your driver’s license, voter registration and where you pay your local and/or state income taxes.

If you once lived in the home and now you rented out it’s going to depend on how many months during the year you’ve actually lived in the home in order to take the right tax breaks and benefits. The IRS states that “the mere fact that property is, or has been, rented is not determinative that such property is not used by the taxpayer as his principal residence. If the taxpayer purchases his new residents before he sells his old residents, the fact that he temporarily rents out the new residents during the period before he vacates the old residents may not, in light of all the facts and circumstances of the case, prevent the new residents from being considered as property used by the taxpayer as his principal residence.”

Stipulations also state that the taxpayer is not required to actually occupy the old residents on the date of sale. The IRS will look at particular facts and circumstances in order to make a proper determination. You, as the homeowner, must be able to demonstrate that you did not intend to abandon the house as a principal residence in order to take the tax break.

If you’re looking to keep your primary home as your principal residence you want to do one of several things;

  • Sell your home before renting it out.
  • Avoid any impressions that you are not abandoning your house as a principal residence.
  • If you purchase a new home before the other one sells, keep your old house as your principal residence until it does.

All of these factors will determine the circumstances around a particular case of whether or not the home is your principal residence.

For more information or answers to your questions about real estate, homeownership or buying in Sunset Beach contact my office today.

Find Your Permanent or Vacation Home Now

 

5 Simple Spring Home Maintenance Tasks

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5 Simple Spring Home Maintenance Tasks

Finally, we’re getting a little bit of sun for more than a couple of days at a time. The weather is warming up and we are looking towards summer. If you’re planning on doing a little bit of spring cleaning or maybe spring preparing, here are five simple home maintenance tasks to consider.

#1. Check your sprinklers.

Now may be a great time to examine your sprinklers, especially if you have not run them all winter long. Now that the weather is heating up you want to make sure that your sprinkler heads are above the ground and are spring in the right direction. You’ll also want to check that there are no bulging or broken pieces they could be shooting water into the air or different areas.

#2. Examine the roof.

You want to do a brief but thorough roof check. You may want some help if you are roof is a steep pitch unless you are extremely comfortable with heights. Examine any roof shingles to see if there is damage or if any have blown off during the winter. Check the flashings around skylights and any chimneys and reseal as necessary.

#3. Get your air conditioner ready.

Unless your home has central air, you may want to give your air-conditioning unit a thorough inspection or make sure that it is working and ready for the summer. If it’s not, now is the time to get it repaired or replaced before the hot summer months really set in. If you have a central system, you’ll probably want to schedule a service, just to make sure everything is working properly.

#4. Do a little landscaping.

You want to trim away any overgrown branches or shrubs and make sure that none of the trees or bushes are touching the siding of the house. It’s important to keep the branches at least 3 feet away from the side and the roof of the house to prevent water leakage or any pests from getting into your home or onto the roof.

#5. Check for pests.

Those pests may already have found a place in your attic or foundation so you want to double check that the attic and crawlspace are free of pests including wood eating organisms and items such as rats, mice or snakes. You may need to hire a pest control company to do a thorough examination of these areas and spray for any bugs or mites.

These simple spring home maintenance tasks will get your home in good working condition so you are ready for the hot summer months. Are you also preparing your home for sale? Give us a call to find out what your home could possibly be worth and the additional things you can do to get the most of the sale of your home.

Additional Resources for Homeowners:

Is a Loan Modification My Best Option?

The 5 Best Things to Living on the Intracoastal Waterway

Necessities to Furnish a Guest House or Vacation Home

Indoor Outdoor Living on a Budget

Inexpensive Ways to Have the Look of a High-End Home

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