We are nearing the end of an epic summer — one when I’ve heard over and over again that families were traveling more, still catching up from being forced to stay home through the pandemic. YOLO, as they say.
Something else I am seeing a lot of, however, is really concerning — hence writing this column.
People are posting online in all sorts of completely public places that they are going to be on vacation and away from their homes for days or even weeks at a time.
Spoiler alert, do not do this.
You are letting anyone who happens upon this social media post know that your home is going to be unattended for a period of time, and this is an invitation for an easy burglary. Especially if you don’t have a home security system activated, which is approximately 54% of homes in the United States.
Home break-ins peak during the summer. Why? Because more people are leaving their windows open and going on family vacations.
A majority of home break-ins happen between noon and 4 p.m., historically when more people are away from the home at work. There also tends to be less foot traffic during these hours.
Here are some tips for how to protect your home while you’re out of town:
Do you get a newspaper delivered to your home? Suspend delivery. It’s an obvious sign that no one is home when the paper stays out in the driveway.
Suspend your USPS mail delivery and ask a neighbor to take your packages in so there isn’t a buildup of stuff on your front porch. Porch pirates are rampant around town too. One of our neighbors hires our son to check his door every day when they travel, just in case something gets delivered.
Ask a neighbor or hire a neighborhood teenager to put out and back your trash bins on the correct days. Even if they’re empty or low — no trash bins out typically means no one is home.
Have glass in your front door that’s fully see through? You can maintain the look and feel of your door aesthetic while keeping your home secure by buying contact paper that frosts the windows. This is a low-cost way of decreasing visibility into the interior of the home.
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Don’t join public Facebook groups and talk about your travel plans. Or Nextdoor. Or Instagram. Or TikTok. You get the picture. If you join private Facebook groups that are specific to travel groups going on certain dates, make sure you set your privacy settings to not allow “anyone” or “friends of friends” to see which groups you are a part of.
Tell your neighbors where you’re going to be and how long you’ll be gone. Also offer to keep watch for their homes when they travel.
Ask your neighbors or hire a neighborhood teen to stop by the house every day or every other day to check on things and water the plants. This maintains activity around your home.
If you’re taking a ride-hailing app to the airport, have them pick you up a few address numbers down or around the corner.
Post pics online after you get back from your trip, or make sure your social media accounts have the correct privacy settings so strangers can’t see your photos to know that you’re halfway around the world.
If you have gates to your backyard, put locks on them.
Close and lock your windows, and put metal security locks on your sliding windows. We installed fairly inexpensive ones we bought online — you can search for “window locks.” This also allows you to leave your window cracked open during the hot summer nights without the ability for the window to slide open further.
Close your window shades. If you have your shades and lights on a timer, it’s always good to keep their regular schedule going so your home looks occupied (time to rewatch Home Alone?).
And lastly, this one seems like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised how many people forget to lock their front door when they’re running out of the house. Make sure all of your doors, including the door from your garage to the interior of the house, are locked when you leave. Up to one-third of home break-ins every year happen through the front door.
Whatever you end up doing these last several weeks of summer, I hope you are able to relax, bask in some sun and recharge. And while you do that, I hope you’ll also feel great knowing your home is as protected as it can be while you’re not there.
Annie Tsai is chief operating officer at Interact (tryinteract.com), early stage investor and advisor with The House Fund (thehouse.fund), and a member of the San Mateo County Housing and Community Development Committee. Find Annie on Twitter @meannie.
(1) comment
Thanks for a great column, Ms. Tsai, with valuable advice on protecting your home when you go on vacation. I’d add that if you have cash and other valuables lying around, that you make a trip and deposit them into your bank deposit box or leave them with a family member or trusted neighbor. As for timers, not only lights, but perhaps on a radio. BTW, if you read comments, any feedback on this recent article by Troy Wolverton at the SF Examiner (https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/technology/why-researchers-argue-that-chatgpt-output-is-a-bunch-of-bs/article_85f990c0-4896-11ef-8ec5-b73150b9b33e.html)?
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