Summer is definitely in full-swing - especially with the recent heat waves we’ve experienced across the UK over the past few weeks. Although it has been enjoyable having some (hot!) sunshine, summer sadly comes with burglaries. Alongside this, vacant properties that haven’t been properly secured are at risk of fires, water damage and more.
Summer burglaries
Did you know that in summer, burglaries tend to occur in the daytime between 10am - 12pm? You would think burglaries happen when the sun goes down and everybody is sleeping but no, that isn’t the case. A lot of people leave their windows open when venturing out, in the hopes of allowing cool air to circulate the house, or they leave their front door unlocked and front windows open when in the garden, thinking nothing of it.
The grass isn’t always greener…
When you’re enjoying some time in the garden, make sure you’ve locked your doors and windows to the front of the house. If there’s music on in the garden or you have guests around, it can be quite hard to hear if there are any intruders trying to get into your home.
By all means keep your windows and doors to the back of your home open and allow the cool air to get in that way because you can keep an eye on them, but don’t risk those at the front!
A valuable lesson
Plenty of us have valuables we cherish and we often keep them in a safe place, however things such as wallets/purses, mobile phones or even car keys should be kept well away from doors and windows.
All it takes is for a potential intruder to spot your valuables and make note of where they’re kept. Keep your valuable possessions in a drawer or cupboard away from prying eyes, and make a conscious effort to put them away after you’ve used them.
We’re all going on a summer holiday
Have you got plans to go away this summer? Make sure to keep your plans quiet on social media. We all love to share our adventures on social platforms to keep our friends and families up-to-date with our whereabouts, but this could do more harm than good.
If you’re planning to go away, ask your friends and families to keep your holiday quiet. Instagram for example has a great feature of creating a ‘close friends’ list option for your Instagram stories. You can add who you choose to the list and when you publish anything to your story, you can add it to this selected list instead.
Under lock and key
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but when you’re leaving your home make sure that all doors and windows are locked. Sometimes we like to keep windows open to allow cool air to flood the house when we are absent, but to an intruder this is an open invitation to your home.
If you’re looking for ways to keep your home cool whilst you’re out, close all blinds and windows to bounce off the heat. Another factor that we shouldn’t ignore are small windows. Again, these often go ignored because we may think “they’re only small, they’ll be fine” when in reality, these pose a threat to burglaries too.
The land of nod
Trying to get a restful night's sleep in warmer temperatures can be quite frustrating, especially when there is no cool air and if you don’t have the luxury of a fan! Most of us opt for sleeping with our windows open (if you don’t mind the bugs!) in the hopes of catching a cool breeze to help us drift off.
However, this is ample opportunity for intruders to have a snoop around your home. If you’re wanting to keep your windows open whilst you sleep, look at installing some window restrictions so your home is safe whilst you snooze.
A key thing to remember…
Hands up if you leave your keys in your door when it’s locked? Maybe you need to re-think that one…
Always take your keys out of your door once you’ve locked it. All it takes is one swipe from the letter box to grab the keys to unlock your door. If you have a key holder, hang your keys up away from the door and windows or if you don’t, pop them in a trinket dish or drawer out of sight.
The dangers of not properly securing your vacant property
Leading on from summer burglaries, ensuring that your vacant property is properly secured is a must too.
Properties that haven’t been properly secured can pose many risks such as fires, water damage and much more.
Fires
Fires are a common threat to vacant properties that haven’t been secured. Whether this is due to arson from intruders, faulty electrics, faulty heating or tripped wires, once a fire has started it can spread very quickly.
Without suitable property security in place, a fire can destroy a whole building and also spread onto neighbouring buildings too. Fires can be devastating in many ways, so preventing these as much as possible is necessary.
Water damage
Water damage can go undetected for a large amount of time, but the effects of it can be long lasting. Water damage can lead to damage in a buildings infrastructure, mould and damp problems which are quite costly to get repaired.
Water damage can occur from burst pipes or other pipe problems. With the right property security, these can be managed and checked on a regular basis.
Burglary
If your vacant property still has furnishings and belongings inside, this can become a prime target for burglars.
Keep all valuables away from windows and doors and anything that you don’t want on show, keep in one room. If the intruder recognises that the property is vacant and noone is going to be occupying it, they will take the opportunity to break in and claim possessions for themselves.
Squatters
Making sure your property has no visible or hidden entry points is a must for vacant properties. Entry points allow for squatters to claim the property if it’s left vacant. Damage can be caused to the inside of the property, that you as a property owner will have to rectify.
Squatters do have legal rights and it can take months alongside costly court fees to get them removed. Minimise this risk by checking the vacant property and inspecting it on a weekly basis.
There we have it - how to prevent those summer burglaries and what dangers surround vacant properties that aren’t properly secured.
If you have a property - commercial or residential - that you’re looking to properly secure, get in touch with us at Blue Door Property Guardians to get the ball rolling.
We have an extensive list of Property Guardians waiting to secure their next property!
If you would like to ask us any questions, register your property with us or view our vacant properties, you can email us at: admin@bluedoorpropertyguardians.co.uk, call us on: 02071174232 or send us a direct message on Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.