5 Things That Make Your Home an Easy Target for Burglars

How can you protect your home from theft? Here are 5 things that make your home an easy target for burglars.

1. Bad Lighting

If it’s easy for a burglar to stay hidden while they’re doing the deed, they’ll probably opt for that option. Obviously staying hidden reduces the risk of being caught. If you’re concerned about burglars hitting your house, install some exterior lighting and make sure that entrances are visible to passersby.

2. Evidence of Absence

If a burglar can tell you’re not home, they know your home will be a safer home for them to target. Evidence of absence can be a result of a number of things from public posts on social media to piles of mail stacking up to stillness around the property. If you’ll be out of town, don’t share it with the social media world, have a friend pick up your mail, and use automatic timers on lights to simulate presence.

3. Exterior signs of wealth

If you’ve got an expensive car in the driveway, have spent thousands on landscaping, and aren’t afraid to show off your pricy holiday decorations, these are all signs that there’s probably more money behind the front door. If you flaunt your wealth, you’ve probably got the burglars drooling.

4. Lack of home security

One of the biggest deterrents for break-ins is when a home security system is installed. Not only do cameras provide visual evidence of a crime, alarms and police notifications are also likely to cut a burglary short. Most burglars would rather hit a house where they can do so in secrecy and without a major time constraint.

5. Ease of entrance

The easier it is for a burglar to break into your home, the more likely they are to do it. That’s not to say that keeping doors and windows locked is enough of a deterrent to prevent all burglary, but it’s a start.