subject: Home Security Tips For House Sitters [print this page] Youve likely been asked several times in your life to watch out for a friends house while he is on vacation with his family. Although this sounds like a simple task, you actually have a lot of responsibility. Home invasions are much more common when families are away on vacation, as criminals are particularly observant to a temporarily unoccupied home. Beyond the responsibilities of feeding the cats and making sure that the HVAC system is still functioning properly, there are additional steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of a home invasion. By taking these home security measures, even as the house sitter you can help prevent crime.
The main issue that comes up when someone is away on vacation is that the house is left unoccupied and all the more vulnerable to a home invasion and robbery. Even by asking a friend to check up on the house for the week or so that the homeowner is gone does not guarantee that a criminal will not take note of the familys absence. For this reason its your responsibility as the caretaker for the week to create the appearance that someone is home. You can achieve this by leaving a few lights on during the evening time or even by turning on the television.
Because you are simply checking up on the house and feeding the pets on a daily basis, your role in home security is only part time. The homeowner likely informed his neighbors that he was going on vacation, as well as informed them that you would be checking on the house throughout the week. Nonetheless, you should introduce yourself to the neighbors so that they are familiar with you face and dont suspect anything of you. Especially if you decide to check up on the house at night, you wouldnt want them to mistake you for a criminal. Being familiar with the neighbors also allows you to stay informed of any strange activity they may have seen in your absence.
And of course, youll need to be familiar with the home alarm so that you do not set it off on accident. With many alarms you need to press certain buttons before leaving and exiting the house to enable the alarms function. If you do not do this the alarm may not go off in the case of a real emergency. You should also know how to turn the alarm off should it go off on accident. As the alarm is crucial to the security of your friends house, its important that you understand its function.
Looking out for your friends property while he is away on vacation requires a lot of responsibility on your part. If something were to happen while he and his family were off vacationing, you would feel entirely to blame. Of course there are things that are beyond your control, but so long as you take the appropriate home security measures, you significantly decrease the likelihood of an event occurring. That way your friend and his family will come home to the house exactly as they left it.
