Securing Your New Home

Living near the city comes with a lot of rewards, but there’s also some risk as well.  Therefore, consider securing your new home by installing some security measures:

Things We Think Are Must-Have Security Measures 

1. Rekey all of your door locks.  You just never know who still has a key to your new home.  Better to be safe than sorry and have a locksmith rekey the existing locks on all of your exterior doors. This is a MUST for all buyers.  Our recommended Robert at No Limit Locksmith (615) 415-4507.  He can rekey all of the exterior locks so you only have one key which opens all of your exterior doors.  We recommend having at least one deadbolt on all exterior doors.  Other options are Hosse & Hosse in East Nashville and 1-800-Mr-ReKey.
2. Install an alarm system.  Our favorite local alarm company is NCA.  They are reliable and reasonably priced.
3. Install a peephole hole in your front door if it doesn’t already have one.  This isn’t hard to do and can normally be installed by a handyman.
4. If you have a sliding glass door, buy a wooden dowel and keep it in the door track on the floor when the door isn’t open.  We also recommend adding a jimmy plate and an auxiliary lock to any patio doors.

Other Precautions

1. Install Door Devils on each of your exterior doors.
2. Look into metal wrap reinforcing around knobs on all exterior doors.
3. Consider installing a Night Lock on back or side doors you won’t use every day. For example- basements and backdoors.
4. If you have any glass in your front door or windows at or below ground level, We recommend installing Shatter Safe on your windows. It’s a clear plastic film that covers the inside of your window and makes it virtually impossible to break the glass and enter the home.
5. If you’re buying a single family home, add a dusk to dawn light above all exterior doors and consider a motion detector on the gangway or garage area.
6. If you are buying a single family home with a garage and the garage has a window, consider putting a curtain over the window or change the window to frosted or glass block so potential burglars can’t see inside your garage. Definitely add Shatter Safe to your garage window as it’s a prime spot for a break in.
7. If you are purchasing within a condo development and you feel that security it lax, definitely let the board know your thoughts. You’d be surprised at the cost-effectiveness of buying in bulk and the neighbors will like you for it.

We strongly urge you to consider doing the above items as soon as you move in. Criminals are known to watch new people moving in to see what kinds of valuables you’re bringing into the home such as TVs, computers, etc. and then rob you shortly after moving in. Better to be safe than sorry.