Three Tips For Home Security
When it comes to moving into a property you have just purchased it is a joyous experience filled with happiness and much emotion. Even if you have purchased it as a holiday home or occasional retreat, it is still a great feeling to finally get the keys.
In most cases it has been months of research to find a selection of properties to view, followed by dozens of viewings from the list you have narrowed down. Eventually you KNOW when you have seen THE one. It feels right, it has good energy and it feels like home.
Even then the sales journey is far from over. Now you need to make an offer (if that is what you want to do). If accepted, you need to appoint a lawyer to help you with the sale. They will check all sorts of things from outstanding debts on the property to the licenses in place.
Finally, you end up at the notary where after signing the documents, exchanging the funds, you are now the proud owner of a Spanish property.
Now what?
Well here are a few tips we would recommend that you consider when you have purchased your property and are now in possession of the keys.
One: Change the Locks
We know you have only just taken possession of the keys but, before you move all or valuable goods and furniture in, think about who might still have keys to this property.
We can usually guarantee that the sets you have are NOT the only sets out there. While most of the time it was friends and family of the previous owners that had duplicate sets of keys, which will more than likely never be used again, you just never know if any have slipped into the hands of someone a little more unscrupulous.
The best advice we can give you here is to call in a Costa de Sol locksmith and change the locks so you are starting again.
Two: Rejas, Scissor Gates and Grilles
Sadly, in most areas around the world there are people that pry on other people’s fortune. It means they are waiting to take advantage of situations, especially if the targets are not as secure as they could be. People moving into a property are targets for certain criminal gangs because they know that there are goods going in to the property that will not all be unboxed, and therefore easy to grab. Also, they will know that the security of these properties might not be fully up to date, making them easy to enter.
We would recommend you look at the various entry points to your home and decide whether you need some additional security. If you are not sure there are companies out there that can offer you some good advice on your home security on the Costa del Sol.
Three: Safes
If you happen to have valuables like jewellery in the house, you might want to consider installing a safe, just in case you were broken into. The more difficult you make it for thieves, the less likely they are to target you. Most of them want to be in and out in minutes, so if they have to negotiate shutters and grilles and then safes, they will hopefully just move on to an easier target.
Again, when installing a safe, you want to use a reputable company with a track record that you can check.
We hope you have found these three tips useful and we want you to enjoy your property here on the Costa del Sol for years to come. It is a great place to live or visit and the crime is no worse than in many other countries. The thing we find is that because it is a more relaxed environment, some people don’t take quite as much care with their security.
