A lot of people believe that home invasions and burglaries can only happen at night by some of the most skilled thieves and criminals. In most cases, you would never suspect anyone you’re acquainted with to break into your home or garage. You also might think that this can’t happen in broad daylight, especially after seeing so many of these break-ins happening at night in the movies and on your local news. If you have any of these misconceptions, you might need to reconsider the preconceived notions that you hold regarding home invasions and burglaries.
Home Alone 2’s most infamous burglars ever.
Home Burglary Statistics and Facts Every Property Owner Should Know
According to Aeon Matrix, most burglaries happen between 10 am and 3 pm, and in most cases, these home invasions only last for 10 minutes or less. Additionally, these burglaries are conducted by thieves who live within a relatively close distance to your home.
Most burglars deliberately avoid homes with security systems, and in many cases, know their victims. According to the data provided by Aeon Matrix, it has been reported that 65% of burglaries are conducted in homes where the criminal knows the owner. Additionally, it has been shown that most burglars will start with the master bedroom and work their way throughout the home from that point.
Having gone over these alarming statistics, you might think that your garage is safe. After all, what would a criminal want from your garage? In most cases, we just use it to store junk that we don’t want sitting in our house— all of which would be of no interest to a burglar. While this is a common belief, the reality is that this misconception can’t be further from the truth.
In a study conducted by Safe at Last, it was found that:
● 34% of burglaries occur through the front door of your home.
● 23% happen through a first-floor window
● 22% of incidents occurring through the back door.
● The final 9% of burglary incidents happen through the garage door. With so many access points, the garage door is not immune to break-ins, which is why it is important to have a secure door opening system that can deter burglars from getting in.
Common Things We Forget When It Comes to Protecting Our Home
Oftentimes, people will move to the suburbs as a way to escape high-crime areas in the city. While the dream of a white picket fence in a beautiful suburban neighborhood is appealing, it is important to remember that even the “safest” neighborhood isn’t immune to home invasions.
While you might have a false sense of security and think that it can’t happen to you in your beautiful suburban neighborhood, this is a recipe for disaster. Complacency causes us to feel safer and more relaxed. So much so that it can lead us to engage in risky behavior like forgetting to lock our doors or leaving an extra key outside for the kids or housekeeper to get in.
You might feel like these practices aren’t a big deal because of the area you live in, but the truth is that highly motivated criminals can easily pick up on these actions and identify them as major weaknesses in our home’s security.
No Brainer Tips that Can Keep Your Family Safe from a Home Invasion
You don’t need to have a set of elaborate traps like Kevin McAllister to keep burglars out. You simply need to follow these easy-to-remember common-sense tips.
- Keep your doors and windows locked at all times. This is probably the easiest preventative measure you can take to make it a lot more difficult for your home to be broken into.
- Do not keep a spare key hidden near the front door, your shed, or above that inconspicuous rock you think that nobody has noticed. Ultimately, you shouldn’t keep a hidden key anywhere outside your home. If you need a safe place for a hidden key in case your kid or other family member is locked out, you’re better off keeping it with a neighbor that you know and trust. However, you still can’t be too careful. Consider leaving a key at the grandparent’s house or another elderly person who can help if you make the mistake of locking yourself out.
- Avoid keeping your keys in a bowl in the entryway of your home. Leaving keys in the open is a great way to have an unsuspecting visitor steal them. Additionally, you should make sure not to label your keys. Also, make sure not to leave a garage door remote that is visible in your unlocked car.
- Mind your patio doors. Patio doors are often an easy access point for burglars even when they’re locked. One way to add some extra security is to take a wooden pole or stick and cut it to the length of your door so that it can be placed into the door track. That way, when a burglar tries to break in, the door will be blocked, making it impossible for them to slide it open after breaking the lock.
- Know your neighbors. Having a strong tie to the community you live in can help you prevent burglaries. In fact, home invasions and other crimes tend to occur less frequently in tight-knit communities where neighbors look out for one another. Having a neighborhood watch program makes it even more unlikely that unusual activity won’t be reported when it happens. Having extra eyes on the property can never hurt and can make a huge difference in the security of your home.
- Change your locks after moving in. Many first-time homeowners make the mistake of not changing their locks after moving in. You never know who has access to old keys, be safe and make sure to hire a locksmith who can get you a new set of keys and locks.
- Close your curtains after dark. By doing this, you can prevent unwanted eyes from spotting valuable items in your home.
- Install curtains on all garage and basement windows. While covering your house’s windows after dark is a no-brainer, many people forget to protect their garage and basement. Having natural light in your garage is a wonderful thing, but if the windows can be easily looked into, you are putting yourself at risk for a burglary to occur. If you don’t want to install curtains, consider installing Sandblasted glass. This can offer you both natural light and privacy.
- Use timers for your interior lights. If you’re planning on being gone for a while for a vacation or business trip, you could definitely benefit from having your lights run on a timer. Have them turn on and off at least a few times a day to throw off any criminals with bad intentions.
- Install motion-activated exterior lights around the perimeter of your home and garage. Even though most burglaries happen during the day, motion-activated lights are still a great cheap option to keep burglars away. They also make it a lot easier to walk outside at night without tripping or falling.
- Maintain your landscaping. Having overgrown shrubs and bushes can make it difficult to see what’s going on outside your house. Make sure to keep your landscaping well-trimmed to increase visibility outside the main entry points of your home. You might also want to consider planting thorny plants like rose bushes next to your window to make it more difficult for burglars to break in.
- Take note of any weakness to your home’s entryways by doing a walk-around your property. When conducting this walk-around, you’re going to want to observe easy access points or old windows that look easy to break into. Are any expensive items visible through your window? Perhaps you have a ladder lying around that could be used to gain access to an upper-floor window. Take note of all these vulnerabilities and take the necessary action to correct any potential issues.
- Keep all expensive things out of sight. This is generally a great habit you can adopt to not only keep your home more organized and cleaner but can also prevent a burglary from happening.
- Be careful of what you post to social media. Nowadays, people love to share their every move with the world online. While this is tempting and a great way to stay connected with friends, it can also be an easy way for burglars to know exactly where you are and what you’re doing, making it easier for them to break in.
If you want to know more about how safe your home is, check out this Safeatlast blog article.
And Now How can you prevent break-ins in your garage?
Should You Reduce the Length of Your Garage Door Release Mechanism?
Adding a tie wrap to shorten the length of your garage door release mechanism is a great way to keep burglars out. Check out this ColoradoRMN video to learn more about how to do this.
If the rope is too long, a burglar can easily hook it between 2 door sections, grab it and pull it outside in a few seconds. Photo credit: Image from the video
All door operators’systems come with these two parts. They are meant to be used as an emergency release in cases of power outages or fires.
Adding a garage trolley shield is another great option to secure your garage door.
Add an Automatic Garage Door Lock, A Superior Solution
While creating a shorter garage door release mechanism is a great start. Homeowners could greatly benefit from having an automatic garage door lock that automatically locks your door when it's closed.
The truth is that many garage doors can be pried open using a crowbar or other type of tool that can give a burglar enough leverage to lift a door. This can be avoided by purchasing a lock from LiftMaster.
4 main reasons you should install this lock on your garage door
1- Complete protection: A deadbolt lock makes your garage door virtually impenetrable
2- Audible security features: This model comes with an audible noise that lets you know when your door has locked.
3- Automatic operation: Performs in tandem with the opener. So, it always locks and unlocks when the door opener is activated.
4- Anywhere assurance: Smartphone monitoring with the MyQ app means you always know that the garage is secure.
Of course, pairing a great quality garage door that will last up to 25 years with your automatic garage door lock is more than a good idea.
Worry-free Performance. Know that your home is secured from anywhere with the MyQ App and Automatic Garage Door Lock.
Installing a Smart Garage Door Opener
Thanks to modern technology, you can now control your garage door opener from your phone. Installing a smart opening system also allows you to monitor your door from anywhere in the world using a built-in camera system and two-way audio. We recommend going with a LiftMaster system to take advantage of these features.
9 Features included on the Smart LiftMaster 87504-267 Opener
1- Customizable alerts. Smart LiftMaster doors allow you to be alerted any time your door opens or closes or if there is any unusual activity outside your garage.
2- Check the real-time status of your garage door using your phone’s app. Your app allows you to stay connected to everything going on in and around your garage.
3- Open and close the garage door with your phone from anywhere.
4- Give access to the users you want: this system allows you to easily let in your housekeeper or dog walker while you’re away.
5- Get notifications on your smartphone each time people enter your garage.
6- Get in-garage deliveries when you order online.
7- See what’s going on in your garage in real-time.
8- React to what’s happening in your garage.
9- View past activity with either a 7-day or 30-day video storage option, available via a monthly subscription.
How Does it Work?
The homeowner gets a notification “Garage door 1 opened just now” on her smart phone and sees her children and the babysitter, live on camera, as they enter the garage.
Built-in Camera Features
● Live-streaming 1080p HD video
● Manuel 360-degree rotation
● Motion detection, night vision
The homeowner gets a notification on his smart phone and sees the neighbor as she enters his garage. “Hi, Rachel!” he says, “the ladder is hung on the left wall”.
2-Way Audio So That You Can Hear What’s Going on While Also Being Able to Talk Through the System
● Microphone and Speaker, Live 22-way communication
● Enable/disable the microphone
The homeowner gets a notification on his smart phone “Alert Occurred – The garage door remains open and sees that the neighbor who walks the dog as the last to come out from the garage door.
Built-in Wi-Fi and Smart Control Capabilities
● MyQ-connected.
● Open/close from anywhere
● Customize alerts, share access
● Wi-Fi and integrated Bluetooth
Added Safety Features that Secure Your Home and Keep Your Family Safe
● Battery Backup - open/close your garage door even when the power is out
● Electronically Protects against forced openings
● Secure Code – every click sends a secure code
● Safety Sensors – protect you by stopping the door from closing on obstructions
● Motion-detection lighting – never walk into a dark garage again
Replacing the former LiftMaster 8550, the LiftMaster 87504-267 is definitely not your grandfather’s opener. With so many built-in security features, this garage door monitoring system is great for those looking to protect their home and family. This model can be bought online and can be shipped directly to you without having to leave the comfort of your living room. However, like with any online order, you need to be careful of leaving packages on your front step for too long. Luckily, this system can help with that.
With mail burglaries on the rise and weather always being something that can make delivery a hassle, in-garage deliveries will soon become the new normal and are something you’re going to want to be prepared for.
With that said, here are some quick tips you can use to make sure your garage isn’t an easy entry point for burglars:
● Never leave your car unlocked.
● Never leave your remote control in a place where it is clearly visible in your car. You’re better off putting it in your pocket or purse.
● Reprogram your LiftMaster accessories to make sure another remote control cannot open your garage door.
Are You Looking for a Qualified Garage Door Specialist?
Contact us now at 1-877-702-3338.
If the time has come for a new garage door opener or a new garage door, or you’re looking for maintenance, repair, or installation, the experts at Cliff’s Overhead Doors have you covered. With years of experience, they can help guide you through any questions you have regarding the installation of your new garage door or security system.
When contacting us, you can expect world-class service. Our team of dedicated professionals can help you with every aspect of your garage door needs and can assist you in determining the many different options of doors available to you, no matter what your budget is.
If you already have a good idea of what type of door you want to have installed, you can request a free quote by email to get a better idea of how much your new door is going to cost.
If you’re still in the process of finding the perfect door, please feel free to check out our residential photo gallery , where you can take a look at our previous projects. You can also design the door of your dreams using our innovative Design Centre.
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