Holiday Security and Safety

Nothing can ruin a joyful holiday season faster than coming home to find your home has been broken into.  That sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach will gnaw at you for weeks.  Don't despair though; there are a few simple ideas to make your home less appealing to the burglar, all without breaking the holiday budget.  We all know break-ins occur more frequently around this time of the year,  Let's face it, the average break in thief is not that motivated otherwise, they would just get their own hob and not resort to stealing your stuff.  So making your home appear more protected will certainly help to dissuade them from trying.  Here are a few simple and low cost ideas to help whether you are staying home or travelling this holiday season.

Take a good look around the outside of your home both during the day and at night and make notes on where there are hiding places, dark places or windows with easy access from the ground.  Trim any bushes or trees back around your house to limit the amount of cover an intruder might find appealing.   Breaking into a home takes a little bit of time, and should anyone walk or drive by, the intruder will want to hide.  Next, make sure your exterior lights all work and consider installing extra lighting in particularly dark area.  Home improvement stores offer inexpensive remote motion detectors that will sense motion outside and turn on a light or TV inside. 

Be neighborly letting your close neighbors know if you are leaving, or if you are staying, ask if they will be leaving so someone can watch for trouble.  If you are leaving, stop the paper and mail.  Nothing screams "I'm not home!" more than two weeks of unread newspapers in your driveway!  If you are home or away. LOCK YOUR DOORS and windows and place obvious sliding door stops in your sliding doors.

Use common sense and all the security features your home has, such as deadbolts and window lock. Be observant of what is going on around you.  Should you notice something amiss at your neighbor's home, call the police; should they catch a burglar, there will be one less that might break into our home.  Best of all, have a great and safe Holiday season.

By Brian Hefner

Writer for the Eagle Magazine

For additional information on this and other renting articles, please visit our web site at http://www.mrpmrentals.com/

Your Boise Property Management Rental Resource

RENTAL SCAM

Properties in foreclosure are owned by the bank and typically the bank doesn’t do anything to it for several months. They won’t try to rehab or sell it and the property will be left sitting as if abandoned. This practice leaves a vacant property vulnerable to be quit claimed and listed by someone else as the owners of the property. This practice is illegal but sometimes difficult to catch especially when the banks fail to post a notice of default or list the property in the MLS as a short sale or foreclosure.
Adding to the mix, a prospective tenant, someone searching for a home would have no idea this illegal process has occurred. The prospective tenant applied to rent the property, paid the required fees, signed a lease agreement and moved into the property believing they are dealing with the owner or property management company. What then? If this happens to you as a renter, your only recourse is to try and get the funds paid to lease the property returned and move on. This may be a difficult task as the rightful owner or a registered property manager is not involved and only the person who is involved and that is the person running the scam.
Renters need to obtain more information and review property listings in your area of interest. Ask the person leasing the property how long they have owned or managed the property, ask how long the property has been vacant, if possible, speak to neighbors asking questions about the home, property owner or Management Company or go to the extent of checking the property owner records at your local court house.

For additional information on this and other renting articles, please visit our web site at www.mrpmrentals.com.
Your Boise Property Management Rental Resource