No, most nights we don't even lock the back door. That's probably bad.
I live in an area where the big crime news was someone throwing a dead squirrel into the back of someone else's pick up truck. So no, no security system needed.
We have a Vivint system that includes cameras in front and back, alarm, and smart home features. We pay about $50/month, but get maybe $30/mo reduction in our homeowners insurance. We also have a Ring doorbell (camera covers a different angle than the others) and we pay $36/year.
Post by mrsukyankee on Aug 21, 2019 11:45:40 GMT -5
Yes, though it's rarely on as there is almost always someone in the house. We have an internal alarm with cameras that is monitored. When we move, we'll have the same and possibly get an exterior camera. Before my ILs had a security system they got broken into (but had internal locks on the doors so the person could only get into one room). In my last house I lived in before I moved in with my H, we got broken into because we were the only house on the block w/o a system. In London, you need one.
I answered no. We have a SimpliSafe subscription and have a keypad, but haven't installed it in our new house and we *never* used it in our old house. I keep the subscription because we have fire alarms tied to their system and it's worth the peace of mind to me. They'll notify the fire department immediately if they can't reach us when an alarm goes off. I really don't worry much about theft (not because of where we live, just because it's not high on my list of things to worry about).
We don't have one on our specific house. But we live in a gated community with 2 guards on duty at all times (one at the gate and one who patrols), and there is a camera system at the gate and the guards have access to back-up if necessary.
No and honestly I am surprised the percentage is so high. Maybe it's a suburbs thing? I live in big scary Baltimore and I can't think of a single friend here who has one.
We do have an "intimidating" dog but she's definitely more early warning system than actual security!
Yes, sort of. It's all DIY and not monitored by anyone but us. A network of sensors (doors, glass break, water in the basement, etc), smart plugs (mostly for lights on schedules we program), cameras, etc. connected to a SmartThings hub, plus some motion-activated exterior lights. No ongoing cost beyond setup except for the $10 subscription to check the cameras remotely when we're traveling (which we cancel as soon as we get home).
Nothing at all. Our house is attached on both sides so I like to think that no one will be interested in breaking into a house that's so close to the neighbors.
In my previous city it was all row homes and break-ins were/are rampant. Many many years ago when I lived with roommates our row home was broken in to and tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff was stolen, in broad daylight. The police actually did find who did it and they were essentially professional thieves :/
I still own a row home in that city and there is a security system there. Unfortunately in that city close living quarters isn’t a deterrent for house theft.
We do. The house was already wired and we have monitoring through a local company. With the discount we get from it on our homeowners insurance it costs us about $9/mo. Is it needed where I live? Probably not but we like it.
No, we don't have anything. Most if not all of the robberies in my area are opportunistic. People don't lock their doors or cars and leave valuables in plain sight. Locked cars and houses are left alone.
Alarms on every window and door along with glass break sensors on our sliding glass door and large bay window. We have motion lights in front and back.
We have a security system, 2 outdoor cameras, and a door bell camera. They are super helpful, mostly for missing packages and seeing what wildlife is enjoying our birdseed and garden. We have a neighbor that CONSTANTLY asks us to check our cameras for things. Like once a week. I definitely wouldn’t mind a one-off or serious situation but she needs to get her own to monitor her own package delivery.
I'm kicking myself because we have Vivent, which I really like, but monitoring is like $35/month. We could have bought a Ring system at Costco a month or two later for a great price/package and dropped the monitoring to $10. I didn't even know Ring did that at the time. But I really like our Vivent, and ADT was not responsive when it came down to it. (Not that we were robbed, except by the cost of their monitoring and the outdated equipment they wanted to charges us an arm and a leg to upgrade, but they never even offered wireless when I was asking around. They were simply going to upgrade our ten-year-old hard-wired system that we were looking to get rid of.)
We have the doorbell and alarm system, because there have been prowlers and break-ins in our area for some time. We also have as a large, very territorial and protective dog. The dog is the best deterrent. The alarms are simply backup.
We have an ADT alarm system but no cameras. We looked into them after someone stole the engine off of my husbands fishing boat but we were told they’re illegal in our state...but it seems like everyone has them so I don’t know if that’s really true
Post by litebright on Aug 21, 2019 15:30:08 GMT -5
Our house is wired for one, but we don't use it. We have a sort of informal system, though. H bought a few Arlo cameras and set them up before our last vacation. One aimed at the main door, one at the back door and one in the living room. Those have motion sense capabilities, I think, so he can set them to get alerts on his smartphone (which most of the time he doesn't do because we're home). We have a similar set up with an Arlo cam to watch our fish tanks when we are out of town to make sure the automatic feeders go off on time and so we can check on our fishies.
But I work from home pretty much all day every day, so the amount of time when no one is home is relatively small for us. We don't travel much and we're in a semi-rural area. DH has talked from time to time about getting some sensors for the windows and maybe a SimpliSafe system, but I'm not sure that it really makes sense when someone is here most of the time anyway -- which by itself is a pretty big deterrent to anybody looking to break in.
It would be nice if our dog was a bit more useful in this area, though. Our previous dog was almost a hundred pounds, territorial and had a scary bark -- nobody was ever going to mess with him and he paid attention to everything going on inside and outside. He actually foiled a would-be burglar one time by alerting us that someone was outside in our fenced-in yard in the MOTN. Our new dog is SUPER friendly and adores all people. She is also very quiet. I can remember exactly two times that she has barked at things in the time we've had her, and neither of those times involved barking at a person.
We’ve got a Ring doorbell, door alarms, and a motion detector. DH is looking at adding a camera to the back door.
While our street is pretty quiet, there was an armed robbery recently like, a block away, and the apartment complex that’s maybe 1/4-1/2 a mile a way is pretty rough. We’ve accidentally left our garage door open overnight and nothing was stolen, but we’d rather be safe than sorry.
Plus, we’re not too far away from a college campus and there’s a sorority house pretty close. No telling what kind of drunken shenanigans could go down in the area. 🤷🏻♀️
ETA - we pay $10 a month for the Ring system, as opposed to $30 something for the system we had through Xfinity. So the Ring system will pay for itself within 5 or 6 months based on the monthly savings.
Post by fuckyourcouch on Aug 21, 2019 16:43:20 GMT -5
We have Vivint, with cameras and continuous monitoring. But not because I’m afraid of anyone outside, but because I have PTSD from house flooding, and having constant water sensor monitoring (and being able to spy on my dogs) is the only thing that makes me feel okay leaving the house.