Home Security Tips

A home invasion is scary. You can take steps to prevent a burglary from happening to your home or personal property. I’ve compiled some tips from Allstate Insurance and the Seattle Police Department on preventing home invasions.

8 important steps that will help prevent burglaries:

1. When you move into a new home, make sure to change all the locks. You don’t know who had keys before you moved in. In addition, if you ever lose your keys, replace the locks.

2. Install deadbolt locks on all exterior doors and use metal bars on sliding doors.

3. Install an alarm system. They are one of the best defenses against home invasion. Generally, intruders are deterred by a house with a Security System sign in the front yard.

4. Add timers on exterior lights and install motion sensor lighting directed at any entries and vulnerable areas of your home.

5. Install safety glass or security film on vulnerable windows.

6. Trim trees and shrubs to allow visibility to windows and doors.

7. Double-hung windows should be secured with locking pins.

8. Never leave ladders out and make sure they are not easily accessed.

For more home invasion prevention tips, visit Allstate Insurance and Seattle Police Department. Also be sure to check your local community police department for location-specific tips.

Tips to sell your home while you are living in it

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Home Inspection Issues

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Should I have a home inspection done?

I like to refer to a home inspection as getting a “house physical”. It’s a way to find out the homes condition and structure, and also helps pinpoint any problem areas. During a typical housing market, the home inspection is a means of negotiation for the buyer. In this episode of “On the Road with Roger” I talk with one of my favorite home inspectors here in the Seattle area, Jess Nelson, who will share what buyers should expect from a home inspection.

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Jenny Wren’s New House (My Favorite Book)

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Co-ops vs. Condos

Buying a unit in a cooperative is different than buying a condominium. As Huffington Post wrote, “The co-op buying (and selling) process is tricky one, where a real estate broker will certainly come in handy.” Find out more as we visit a few beautiful co-op buildings in Seattle.