Moving house is an exciting and stressful time.
Handling movers, wrangling furniture and settling into a new property is enough to leave anyone frazzled.
With so much going on, it’s easy to leave security lower on your list of priorities. But moving home is a time when you are more vulnerable to thieves – they can spot an easy target.
Here’s our top South Melbourne locksmith tips for taking care of your home security when you move into a new property.
New home security tip #1: Get the locks rekeyed
You have no idea who has copies of keys to your home. The vendor may have been lovely, but what about the dodgy cousin or crazy auntie? The most important security move is to arrange a local, experienced locksmith to rekey the locks.
New home security tip#2: Conduct a safety audit
To check for potential weak spots, conduct a locks and security audit of the home. Check each door and window, to determine if the locks are still in good working order. Consider smaller bathroom and laundry windows as well as skylights as potential access points. Install deadbolts and window locks on all doors and windows that need better protection.
New home security tip #3: Check the garage and shed
You are potentially leaving thousands of dollars of valuable assets in your garage. Your cars, the lawnmower, expensive golf clubs and power tools are all vulnerable. These garage items are easy targets for thieves because they have less chance of being disturbed by the owners. The high value goods are tempting too. So make sure your garage and shed have locks on all the doors and windows for your peace of mind.
New home security tip #4 keep items hidden from view
When deciding where to put your furniture in your new home, consider what can be seen from the outside. It’s a good idea to ensure that expensive televisions and games consoles can’t be seen through the front windows. Why advertise what you’ve got to thieves? Better to keep valuables out of sight towards the rear of the property.
New home security tip #5: change your security codes
If you’re lucky, your new home has an impressive new alarm system built in. Of course, it would be madness to leave the access codes unchanged – you may as well invite the previous owners in to help themselves! Make sure to change the code as soon as possible, and have a locksmith check the system to ensure it is in top working order. Familiarise yourself with the security system to ensure there are no secret codes that can be used by previous owners.
New home security tip #6: befriend the neighbours
The people next door are most likely to notice is something is wrong at your place, and you want them to feel comfortable giving you a call. So have a friendly chat with the neighbours and share your contact numbers with them so they can reach you if they spot anything amiss. And do the same for them!
