It’s the bus-bus-busiest season of all. AAA Mid-Atlantic has reported that as many as 2.5 of the 6 million people who call Washington DC metro home will travel 50 miles or more as the holiday season kicks into high gear this week. Are you among them? Leaving town for the holidays can make your house an easy target for burglars; keep yourself, your home, and anyone you’ve left behind safe from the Sticky Bandits this Christmas with these tips from the northern Virginia property management pros, Real Property Management.
Leave the lights on.
Use manual timers, or invest in a remote device that makes it easy to turn indoor and exterior lights on and off at night. Doing so will make it seem less like your house is sitting vacant for days on end, and less attractive to potential burglars.
Keep hush-hush about your absence.
Lights that go on and off in good time will do much to make it seem like you’re home, but if bills and Christmas cards are left to spill from your mailbox, and your social media accounts are filled with photos and tweets regaling your vacation afar, the world (and those darn Sticky Bandits) will know you’re not home.
Consider reinforcing your doors and windows.
If your doorjamb is made of wood, the lock strike plate is a major point of vulnerability for your home, and the same can be said for ground-floor windows. Consider upgrading to a heavy-duty strike plate for your door (with four three-inch screws for extra security); use sash pins to secure double-hung windows; and consider adding a wireless alarm system.
Be wary of people going door-to-door solicitors.
Sadly, unfortunately, criminals come without scruples, to your door posing as one who represents this charity or that. Always ask to see identification, and don’t feel pressured to give to anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable. And if something really doesn’t seem right: call 911.
Don’t advertise the gifts you receive.
Family and travel time will end. Northern Virginians everywhere will come home loaded down with new loot, and the house will be covered in boxes. Boxes everywhere. Don’t place these boxes outside for pickup, as they’ll give sneaky thieves a glimpse at what’s inside. Do recycle, but do be smart about it. Break the boxes down, turn them inside out, put them in your trash receptacle and don’t place them on the curb until collection day. Oh, and one last thing: