6 Ways to Protect Your New Home

Posted On Wednesday, 03 February 2021 21:40

If you’ve taken the leap to buy a new home this year or have just completed an incredible renovation, there’s a good chance you’re willing to do just about everything to protect your investment. 

Whether crime is on your mind, natural disasters or just about anything else, there are a tonne of different ways to protect your home without covering it in bars and building a 10 foot tall fence around it. 

In this article, we’ll take a look over a few different ways to protect your new home, to retain its value and keep the occupants inside safe and sound. 

1. Start With Security 

Off the top, the first thing you’re going to want to do is go all-out with your security. 

You don’t want criminals to be able to simply walk through the door or crack a window and make their way into the home unrestricted. And with that in mind, we ask that you kickstart your home security with door security. 

Our biggest tip here is to choose locks that are sturdy and going to auto-latch when you close them. You may also want to consider smart locks if you’re someone who steps out with your smartphone — and not your house keys. 

On top of this, it’s a good idea to reinforce both internal and external doors together if you're concerned about the crime rate in your area. 

Considering smart locks, a deadbolt and a strike plate are all great places to start. 

2. Illuminate as Much as You Can

There’s a two-pronged result from this tip, and it’s a beautifully lit up landscape but also one that deters burglars and other criminals.

You’ll be able to rely on these well-lit spaces to keep lawbreakers at bay as you’re keeping everything in view for yourself, your neighbours and your CCTV system, and we’re sure that no one is going to want to be caught on camera undertaking unlawful activities. 

That in mind, with motion activated lights or just some intelligently place all-night lighting around your home, you’re keeping it safe from crime and also ensuring it’s nicely lit and adding to the aesthetic and ‘vibe’ of your street.  

3. Seal off the Garage

Another point to keep in mind is that your garage is essentially a large, unrestricted access point for criminals when it’s open. 

There’s a good chance your new home has an entry point to the house inside your garage and we’re going to suggest you work to close all of these off. Either replace this internal garage door with a solid timber door with a deadlock or work to install a safety screen. 

One other consideration may be to keep your garage door automated so you will be able to easily keep an eye on if it’s opened or closed, and keep it shut a majority of the time. 

4. Invest in Home Insurance

With all of the tips above out of the way, we’re glad to say that your home insurance premiums are likely going to be a little lower.

To protect your new home, you may want to consider home and contents insurance to make certain that you’re going to be protected in the event of a disaster, a break in or just about anything else covered under your insurance umbrella. 

Keep in mind that the more you invest in your home’s safety and structural integrity, the more lenient insurers are going to be when it comes to charging premiums, and so the safer your home is by design, the less you’re looking to be charged. 

Insurers like NRMA work to insure for everything from burglary, natural disaster and even the rebuild of homes damaged in disasters and so you can rest assured that your principal place of residence or investment is protected in any of these circumstances. 

5. Trim Trees and Foliage

For our readers in storm and cyclone zones, it’s imperative to keep a close eye on what’s around your home that could cause damage in a severe weather event.

We suggest taking out large trees that could fall on your home as well as making some changes to your landscaping if there seems to be a point of failure. Keep in mind that trees close by homes can fill gutters with leaves and therefore cause weight issues that break gutters from roofs. 

On top of this, take a look at your home’s landscaping and lawn level and be sure that you’re able to keep a close eye on run-off. If water is pooling in the yard, it’s a good idea to have a landscaper come to even this out. 

You don’t want stagnant water or a pool of water forming and affecting your home’s foundations. 

6. Be Mindful of Valuables 

For those who have large open windows, there’s a good chance that your home’s contents are on show most of the time. 

With that said, you could be unintentionally showing off that $2,000 MacBook Pro without realising it and coercing burglars to come into your home. To remedy this, it might be a good idea to get into the habit of safely storing all of your expensive items out of view and in a space in the home that’s a little more secure.

Investing in a safe is a good idea, as is changing the location of the home office and living spaces to be set back from the main front windows of the home. 

In making these changes, you’re reducing your chances of thieves breaking into the home and also reducing your reliance on the security features we outlined above. 

Conclusion

All of those points in mind, there are plenty of avenues for protecting your new home and keeping it in tip-top shape. 

Be mindful about the upfront investment that protecting and securing a home has, however, it’s almost always better to be prepared and secure from the outset, rather than waiting until it’s too late.

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