The Truth About FREE Burglar Alarms

I’m sure that you have seen the advertisements for free home security systems. These burglar alarm companies promise you a state-of-the-art home security system valued at almost a thousand dollars and you can get it for free. Of course there is the fine print that says they are going to charge you a small installation fee and you have to sign a rather long monitoring agreement where you will be paying a monthly fee.

Personally I cringe whenever I see one of those ads and I also get a little angry. That is because I know that when you have one of these so called “free” home security systems installed, you may “feel” like you are secure but are you really safe?

Of course the system is complete and it will work. But if you take a closer look, you will see that these home security systems only cover 2-3 openings. Now I don’t know about you, but my house has more than just 2 openings that burglar can enter through.

If you live in an apartment on the upper floor or something like that where you only have a couple of exposed openings that a burglar could get into without a ladder or something, then the free home security system will be a perfect solution

Now I don’t want you to think that you shouldn’t use these burglar alarm companies or that they are doing anything wrong. I think that even a small security system protecting your most vulnerable openings is better than not having any protection at all but I would feel more secure if all of my openings were protected.  If you have more than a couple of openings then, you may want to explore other options.

How Do You Choose A Burglar Alarm Company

Before you commit to using a particular burglar alarm company, check their references.  Check online for reviews of that security system company. Check with the BBB to see if there are any complaints. I would even go so far at to check out the reviews of the actual burglar alarm brands.  I feel that some are more reliable and easier to install and use than others but you should check out what other people are saying about the systems that are available.  Real people, not other people in the burglar alarm industry like me.  Let’s face it – we look at burglar alarm systems differently.  I may like the features of a system but it could be more difficult for the average person to use.  If a security system is difficult to use, it’s less likely to be turned on.  In that case, you might as well save your money and not get one.


Burglar Alarm Monitoring – Is it Worth the Money

If you talk to anyone in the burglar alarm business, they will definitely tell you that you should without a doubt have your house alarm system monitored.  On the surface it sounds like a great idea to have home security system monitored but they may not give you the whole truth about what you actually get for your monthly monitoring payment.  Here are some facts that you should know about before you sign up:

How your burglar alarm signal is sent matters.  There are a variety of ways that your home security system can send an alert to the central station (a central station is where the alarm signals are received and processed).  Some ways are more reliable than others.  The majority of alarm signals will be sent either over your telephone line, a local cell tower via radio signal, or through the Internet.  Each method has it’s own set of pros and cons. 

Using a telephone line requires wiring that can be easily cut by an intruder that knows what they are doing but it’s usually the cheapest method and the most reliable.  A radio signal can be sent wirelessly but is usually more expensive and it doesn’t have the best track record for sending signals.  The Internet requires both wiring and can be expensive but for folks that don’t want or use telephone service it could be their answer.

Some burglar alarm monitoring companies charge more than others.  There are some companies that will give you the same service for a lot less money than other companies.  There is one company that I know of that actually charges you more for monitoring if you have additional security devices on your alarm system.  What they don’t tell you is that the burglar alarm company pays the central station a flat fee for each alarm security system.  That means that it doesn’t matter how many security devices you have on your system, the burglar alarm company pays the same rate to the central station.  However, they may get extra charges if a security system sends an excessive amount of signals during a time period.

Central stations are state regulated and therefore are created equal.  They are more than likely Underwriters Laboratory (UL) certified, manned 24/7, and have a backup system in case of power failure.  You still want to check to make sure that the central station your burglar alarm company uses has all of these things but don’t be surprised to see that they ALL have it.

Just because you pay for burglar alarm monitoring doesn’t mean that the proper authorities will respond to the call.  The job of the central monitoring station is to receive signals from burglar alarm and then to call either the police, fire, or whatever authority should be called.  That’s it.  Local police and fire agencies may take their sweet time to respond if they respond at all.  For example, where I am from, the sheriff’s office will take on average – 15 minutes – to show up at the scene of an activated security system.  A lot can happen in 15 minutes.  There are some locations where you can’t even get the police to respond to a home alarm system signal. 

In conclusion, I still recommend that you have your burglar alarm system monitored but only if it makes sense for YOU and you should know that even if your system is monitored there are limitations on what you should expect from using that service.


Home Security Solution – Getting it Back

When it comes to home security, our main focus is on protecting ourselves, our family, and our valuables.  But what do we do if we can’t actually prevent a break-in from occurring? 

How do we get our stuff back?

There are a few things that you can do to help the police in case your home get broken into and the burglar gets away with your valuables.

  • Keep a list.  The first thing that you want to do is to keep an inventory (a list) of all the valuables that you own.  This list should include a good description of the item along with the model and/or serial number if it has one.
  • Take pictures.  Once you have your list, it’s a good idea to also take a photo of the object itself.  I think that it’s a good idea to go around your home and take pictures of everything in it’s normal place.  My reason for this is because if you do happen to experience a break-in, you will probably be more than a little shaken up and unable to think clearly.  Having photos can help you to identify what is missing.
  • Put your name on it.  The best way for the police to be able to identify your property is if they see your name on it.  The best way to do this is to have your valuables engraved but if you can’t do that, then at the very least put a simple security label on it. 

Here is a short video on how to put labels on your valuables:

Labels & Engraving for Home Security — powered by eHow.com

Obviously engraving your items is a more permanent home security solution.  Let’s face it – someone could remove a simple label rather easily.  But if that’s all that you have, it’s better than doing nothing.

It is up to you to do all that you can to protect your yourself, your family, and your valuables from burglary.  We live in a time when we can’t rely on everyone to do the right thing on their own.  Actually, I guess it’s always been that way but now that there are more of us in the world, we have to be a little more cautious.