{"id":2335,"date":"2017-03-26T16:47:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-26T16:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/?p=2335"},"modified":"2020-08-13T16:47:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T16:47:59","slug":"5-home-security-hacks-need-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/5-home-security-hacks-need-know\/","title":{"rendered":"5 home security hacks you need to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

Heading off on holiday? Be sure to tick off these five things before you do to keep your home secure.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s school holiday time, and whilst that means families across Australia are packing up and heading away for a well-earned break, it also means they\u2019ll be leaving their house unattended for days or weeks at a time.<\/p>\n

We spoke to\u00a0NRMA\u00a0Insurance\u00a0home security expert Ross Mangano\u00a0to bring you some of the best tips and home hacks that can help make your property safer, and provide you with that extra bit of confidence when you\u2019re not around.<\/p>\n

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How secure is your home while you\u2019re away on holidays? Picture: Krzysztof Dydynski<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

1.\u00a0Jam your windows and doors<\/h2>\n

This might just be the cheapest security measure you can install, and it\u2019s been around for decades: jamming your windows and doors shut.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can either get security locks professionally done, or you can stick a piece of timber between the sliding door or window,\u201d Mangano says.<\/p>\n

Mangano says it\u2019s simply a matter of cutting a piece of timber that will fit snugly in the empty tracks beside your sliding door or window. It\u2019ll prevent someone from being able to slide the door or window from the outside, even if they\u2019ve managed to pick or break your lock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something you can even leave there permanently as extra security,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Read more: 5 expert security tips to protect your home<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Make it look like somebody\u2019s home<\/h2>\n

Nothing says \u201cI\u2019m home\u201d like a light being on inside a house at night. But no one wants the electricity bill that comes with leaving lights on 24-7.<\/p>\n

Thankfully there are devices that connect to your power points and can turn a light or lamp on at a particular time, to give the appearance of someone being home at night, and then switch it off in the morning.<\/p>\n

Mangano says the ability to turn lights on and off remotely is also a feature of many app-based security systems,\u00a0which allows people to control selected lights from their smartphone, even if they\u2019re on holiday.<\/p>\n

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A lit up home can help deter would-be burglars. Picture: Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

3. Know thy neighbour<\/h2>\n

Peoples\u2019 sense of neighbourhood and community has dwindled in recent years as we become busier and suburbs more built-up and developed.<\/p>\n

But Mangano says there\u2019s still nothing quite like being friendly enough with your neighbours to ask them to keep an eye on things while you\u2019re away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy to just walk around to the neighbour\u2019s house and say, \u2018Look, I\u2019m going away\u2019,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even know some customers who leave an alarm remote control with their neighbours and say, \u2018If it goes off while we\u2019re away, can you check it out and turn it off for me?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most neighbours are also happy to collect your mail and bring in your bins while you\u2019re away, as long as you\u2019re willing to reciprocate!<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Store your valuables out of sight<\/h2>\n

Mangano says once a burglar has entered your house they\u2019ll likely turn the place upside down looking for valuable goods, so it can pay not to give them any encouragement by leaving expensive items visible through windows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like leaving change in your car \u2013 if they see money in the car they break into the car and take the money,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s best to hide that stuff \u2013 laptops, iPads, phones, cash and jewellery \u2013 whatever they can sell easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ensure you don\u2019t make a burglar\u2019s job easy. Picture: Getty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

5. Install home security<\/h2>\n

Home security systems have come a long way in recent years, and are well and truly embracing modern mobile technology.<\/p>\n

NRMA\u2019s Helix Home Security system<\/a> is one package that provides comparatively cheap security for your home, and allows homeowners to use their smartphone to view video cameras, lock doors, receive alerts from motion-activated sensors, turn lights on and off and automatically contact a security company, as well as requiring almost no installation.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s meant to deter the burglar that wants to break into your house,\u201d Mangano says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just to save that guy from looking in your house, saying \u2018I don\u2019t want to waste my time breaking in there\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Realestate au.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The best 12 home security tips<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Heading off on holiday? Be sure to tick off these five things before you do to … 5 home security hacks you need to know<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[981,12908,543,368,627,617,1007,41,818,15282,15309],"class_list":["post-2335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opportunities-in-new-markets","tag-a-house","tag-home","tag-home-buying-guide","tag-home-security-hacks","tag-homeowners","tag-house","tag-owners","tag-property","tag-real","tag-ross","tag-ups"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/ashgrove-brisbane-129-1024x681.jpg?fit=1024%2C681&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amazingproperty.com.ng\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}