SECURITY?

Safe as houses: Make sure yours is locked

“Locks are for honest people,” said the man who ended up in prison for embezzlement. True story. I heard this at a very young age from a man who, several years later, I recognized on a local news station when the anchor reported the story. If someone wants something bad enough, a simple lock won’t stop them; even in Utah.

Just last week, I scheduled out a few hours during a weekday to go paddleboarding. I attached my trailer to my car and loaded up the boards. When I returned to the garage to grab the paddles, they were not there. We have a specific shelf high in our garage for the?boards and paddles. Since I am 5 feet, 1 inch tall on a good day, and only if measured in the morning, I must retrieve the boards with a ladder. I climbed back up to the very top rung of the ladder, so I had a clear view of the shelves, and the paddles were not there. We then searched the entire garage when we quickly became aware that other items were missing as well. Power tools, shovels, screwdrivers and a Shop-Vac were all missing. Why they didn’t take my box of cool Halloween décor or my box of high school memorabilia remains a mystery, but some of the other stuff was just plain?gone.

We had no idea when it had?happened. We lock our?doors when we are not?home, including the doors?on the garage leading?to the yard. The garage?window remains locked?as well. Since I am in?and out throughout the?day, as is my husband

and daughter, we don’t have predictable schedules, so it would be difficult for a thief to plan anything. It is possible this was a crime of opportunity.

Occasionally, when I am just popping by the house for a few minutes, I leave the garage door open, but I have a miniature yorkie alarm, so no one would be able to approach unnoticed. Not to mention, we have a posted home security system sign in our front garden area, which should act as a notable deterrent. In fact, installation of a home security can reduce the chances of a break in by?nearly 300% — as an added bonus, you may get a discount on your homeowner’s insurance as well.

Although locks are for the honest, a full 22% of thieves enter through an unlocked door or window. As a side note, a locked door can quickly become an unlocked door by accessing the key that is “hiding” under the obligatory fake rock or doormat. A little more creativity in the hiding department would be in order.

Besides the standard advise of keeping mum on the dates decided for the family to be out of the house on vacation, we often forget that leaving a garage door opener in a car parked outside the garage also allows easy access to the interior of the home. A locked car is also for honest people.

Exterior lighting is not just for?esthetics either. A well-lit home is less likely to be burglarized. Motion lights are an inexpensive way to “secure” the home. It is, however, a bummer when the teenager attempts to sneak home after curfew, at least for the teenager.

Fortunately, we keep?our more valuable items?inside a locked safe.?We believe, in our case,?this was a crime of opportunity?by a subcontractor who was doing some exterior work on our landscaping. He was fired after the second day, for reasons unrelated to the thefts.

Either way, the home is one of a person’s largest financial assets. It deserves a little protection.

Jen Fischer is an associate broker and Realtor. She can be reached at 801645-2134 or?[email protected].

Jen Fischer

Guest columnist