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.
I know the idea isn’t entirely rational, but I just have always felt safer with lots of people around and nearby than I have in more secluded areas with fewer people. Certainly if there were strings of robberies in the area I’d be singing a different tune. I’m sorry about your experience.
Post by RoxMonster on Aug 21, 2019 17:15:51 GMT -5
We don't have anything (well, we have a guard dog who has a loud bark lol). But honestly, she does help me feel safer. If I hear a weird noise at night and she keeps sleeping and doesn't lose her shit, I know I'm OK.
We don't really have any issues in our neighborhood outside of unlocked cars getting rifled through. And our cars are in the garage anyways. I know stuff can happen anywhere, but I am not worried enough about it to spend money on a security system.
Once upon a time (a decade ago) we accidentally left our garage door open when we went away for the weekend. It faces the street so was very obvious. We were lucky nothing was stolen.
When we got back, our lovely* neighbors told us they were worried for us and kept an eye out all weekend. We did reassure them that if it ever happened again they were welcome to come over and shut the door.
*Not sarcastic. They really were fabulous neighbors and I was sad when they moved.
Post by suburbanzookeeper on Aug 21, 2019 17:47:54 GMT -5
SS - hardwired cameras on the front of the house + a Ring doorbell + one camera in the back and multiple dogs (one who barks if an ant farts). No actual alarm system.
Our area has had a lot of petty theft and home break-ins over the last few years, most of those who are caught doing those crime are cite and release. Additionally with DH's job when he's on standby, I am home alone. I also had an issue with a stalker/creeper last year who knew where we lived and hinted he was coming to visit while DH was at work.
Post by BlondeSpiders on Aug 21, 2019 18:28:03 GMT -5
We got a "free" system with our Xfinity bundle, and they are 3 door sensors. No cameras. Jesse won a free Ring video doorbell but it's so sensitive, the Pride flag by our front door triggers it whenever there's a light breeze.
We don’t. Often we will leave our house or cars unlocked. A few weeks ago, we realized someone had taken all the cash from my husbands wallet that he left in his unlocked truck. He had also left my garage door open that night until he went to bed in the early hours of the morning and someone also took all my cash from my wallet (inside my purse inside my car). So now we’re getting cameras that record to monitor.
Yes, alarm and cameras. So far we’ve discovered that it’s the feral cats who are shitting in our driveway. We sit on the border between suburb/rural so everyone here has some kind of monitoring device.
Wyze cams might be a good (low investment) solution, if you have the right interior spot for them. We use Pans in various windows to monitor our gates (because sometimes the lawn guy leaves them open) and deliveries (to save our delivery folk the walk and our heads from doorbell barking) and our garage (when I fire the kiln I crack the garage door, and don't want cats/raccoons/opossums getting stuck when I close it)- they're fantastic for us- and I have no doubt the video would be useful for more security-minded reasons.
We also have a Skybell (video doorbell). It's mostly amusing (it freaks out adults, kids/teens get it and ham it up), but, I suppose it adds some extra security to the front door.
We have an alarm with motion and door/window sensors. No camera but my H wants to get one, though he wants it to check on the baby sitter rather than for security.
Post by lightbulbsun on Aug 22, 2019 8:33:54 GMT -5
No. We also regularly forget to lock our doors. Oops. I've been thinking of getting a system recently, mostly to have the smoke detectors connected to call the fire department. I have anxiety about my dogs possibly being stuck in the house in a fire.
No alarm or cameras. The door is unlocked for the most part during the day if I'm home. The back door is usually left unlocked in case something happens and the dog needs dealt with. Hot days the windows and sliders are wide open at night.
We just installed the Ring alarm system in our new house. We have the Ring doorbell, Ring door sensors on all exterior doors, and Ring window sensors on all downstairs windows. We don't have the Ring exterior cameras yet, but we are going to buy them when they go on sale in the fall. Our whole system was under $400 on sale. We pay $100 per year for monitoring.
Both of our neighbors have Vivint systems and have been happy. My in-laws have SimpliSafe and love theirs. They bought a kit and did it themselves for about $600.
Post by downtoearth on Aug 22, 2019 13:05:03 GMT -5
Yeah, I left the backdoor open last week. Had been out there and closed the screen door and left the main door cracked to get some air flow. So, nope, no cameras. We have had some packages and items stolen in the neighborhood, but I don't like the Ring doorbells to screen people or the focus on cameras everywhere. I know... I'm behind the times and too trusting of people.
I have had this weird feeling that the house is being watched so i have been researching systems.
Yesterday i left a key for our housekeeper. She came and went, and left the key like she always does.
Between the time she left and my 12 year old coming home alone, the key was gone. She searched for it. The neighbor searched for it. I searched for it. I texted the housekeeper to confirm she left it and she confirmed she did. She always has and has NEVER stolen anything - no reason to not believe her.
The only logical conclusion is someone came and got the key.
And they probably didn't break in at that same time because there were too many people around.
So i went to home depot and got a programmable lock with different access codes that can be programmed for different times of day for the dog walker and the housekeeper. And for my daughter who sometimes forgets her own key like yesterday.
A locksmith came and changed it out for me so i could have peace of mind and go to sleep.
I wish i had a security system too so i could see if the person who took the key tries to come back and break in today.
I have had this weird feeling that the house is being watched so i have been researching systems.
Yesterday i left a key for our housekeeper. She came and went, and left the key like she always does.
Between the time she left and my 12 year old coming home alone, the key was gone. She searched for it. The neighbor searched for it. I searched for it. I texted the housekeeper to confirm she left it and she confirmed she did. She always has and has NEVER stolen anything - no reason to not believe her.
The only logical conclusion is someone came and got the key.
And they probably didn't break in at that same time because there were too many people around.
So i went to home depot and got a programmable lock with different access codes that can be programmed for different times of day for the dog walker and the housekeeper. And for my daughter who sometimes forgets her own key like yesterday.
A locksmith came and changed it out for me so i could have peace of mind and go to sleep.
I wish i had a security system too so i could see if the person who took the key tries to come back and break in today.
Do you at least have a Ring doorbell? I highly recommend it and you can install it in just a few minutes.
We have a ring doorbell...as does everyone else on our end of our dead end street.
We really only got it because people always knocked and wouldn't ring the doorbell, and we couldn't hear it since the front door leads to our inside porch/courtyard, not into the actual house. At least now the motion detector on the ring lets us know if there is motion at the door so that we can check to see if someone is there.
I think the neighbors across the street are the only people at this end of the block with cameras other than their ring doorbell.
We have the ring alarm system with motion sensors, contact sensors, and multiple indoor and outdoor cameras. We got it after our newly constructed house was broken into (in a heavily populated, gated community so no security with gates or the safety of numbers there) and they stole all of my jewelry and several electronics. I'm still bitter about it.
Do you at least have a Ring doorbell? I highly recommend it and you can install it in just a few minutes.
No, but i will be getting one. I want to also get a thermostat that i can control remotely to try to improve our consistency on reducing energy consumption when not home (i.e. for when i forget to adjust it or the programming doesn't seem to work, which happens every time the power blips).
I am looking at the various integrated option and think i have decided on ring door camera (that is motion detected, not just doorbell), the ecobee smart sensor (I like that it will detect what rooms people are in and adjust the temperature to what is optimal based on where there is most activity. Sometimes we over-cool the house just to get the bedroom at a good temperature and freeze out other rooms where we actually are spending more of our time. In contrast once we actually go into the bedroom ecobee allegedly will trigger the thermostat to go down to the desired temperature at that time, but not until then, keeping it a bit warmer in the common areas of the house where we are spending most of our time. Both link up with Alexa so i need someone smart to come and help install the thermostats and then help me sync them up. :-)
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!
Post by gerberdaisy on Aug 23, 2019 8:19:25 GMT -5
We just got a ring doorbell and floodlight cam last week. Its taken a bit to mess with the setting so that we don't get alerted anytime a butterfly goes past, but I like it. When I find a sale on exterior cameras we'll get one more. Lots of people checking car doors in our neighborhood at night, so worth it for us. Not that it'll stop them, but at least we'll know?