You finally did it, you bagged the luxury home of your dreams.
It was a titanic battle as the search went on for months. You got stuck in a rampant bidding war with another buyer, but you held your nerve and the seller chose you. Now, you’re the proud owner of a luxury home that already oozes style and substance before you’ve put a unique stamp on it.
Already, you’re thinking of all the different ways to enhance your home and make it your own. You’re scanning Pinterest every day, you’re looking into hiring interior designers, and the excitement keeps on building. Before you do any of this, there’s a rather crucial element of your home that needs attention.
Yes, the title gives things away, and we are indeed talking about your home security. Moving into any home is exciting, but you need to secure it. This is all the more important when you live in a luxury home – particularly if it’s a rarity in your neighborhood. You may have an invisible target on your back as thieves and criminals are likely to move towards the nicest home in the area.
With that in mind, here are some simple steps to secure your luxury property when moving in:
Change and upgrade the locks & doors
The first thing you should do when moving into a new home is changing the locks. You don’t want other people out there having access to your home. Let’s be honest, you have no idea how many family members or friends the previous owners gave keys to. It’s unsettling to think there are people out in the world that could walk up to your front door and let themselves in.
Hiring some locksmiths is the obvious call as they will effortlessly remove the old locks and put new ones in. Now, this is where things change when you have a luxury home. It’s a high-value property, so it deserves high-value locks. Upgrade the locks to better and more secure ones that are way harder to break.
At the same time, think about upgrading the doors – particularly the ones leading outside. You may wish to opt for reinforced doors that carry more weight. These are designed to be borderline impossible for a human to knock down or kick through. Any potential thieves would need a battering ram to even make a dent in these doors.
Incorporate an access control system
Your locks should be one part of an overall security system. Mostly, you’ll use the keys to lock your doors from the inside or when you leave your house. As you make your way back home, it’s wise to have an access control system that lets you get inside.
What is an access control system? It’s a system that decides who has access to an area. You commonly see them in office buildings, but you can get them installed in luxury homes too. Instead of using a key to open your front door, you have to put in a pin code or scan your fingerprint. You can also get fobs or cards that are scanned to let you in.
Some of the most advanced access control systems can be used to give access to the door lock itself. So, you use the access control method, and then it lets you put your key in to open the door. This might be too complicated for you, but it’s worth considering if you want that extra layer of protection.
The benefit of an access control system is that it deals with instances where your keys have been stolen or misplaced. When you live in a nice area or have a nice house, you attract unwanted attention sometimes. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that someone follows you home one day and pickpockets you the next. While you’re at work minding your own business, they’re unlocking your front door with your keys. Access control ensures they need a passcode or something else to actually get inside.
Implement a two-tiered approach
Following on from the previous point, you can use access control systems in another way. Instead of only having one point of contact to get into your house, you should have two.
Before getting to the front door, you could have a security gate. The gate could automatically open if you have a fob nearby – or it could scan your number plate and let you in. You’re basically putting another barrier between any wrongdoers and your home. If they get passed the gate, they still have your door to get through.
Upgrade the security system
The final step in securing your luxury property is upgrading the entire security system. Here are a few things your system needs:
- Alarms
- CCTV cameras
- Motion sensors
No matter how new the previous security system is, it’s advisable to upgrade it to the most modern version you can find. Installing cameras around your property is one of the best deterrents against thieves. People are less likely to break into a house when they know there’s a big chance they’ll be caught on camera. Install as many as possible so every corner of your property is covered – and make them obvious so people actually see them.
Your alarm system should be tested to ensure it works – and it needs to be connected to the local authorities so they’re alerted if it trips. Motion sensors can be connected to exterior lights that turn on when motion is detected outside, throwing off any potential burglars at night.
Essentially, the security system is the last line of defense on the very off chance someone gets passed everything else. The alarms will go off, the police will be on the scene ASAP, and you have video evidence of who broke in and where they went. If you want to get really advanced, some security systems have a lockdown mode when tripped. This means they secure your house and lock it down, so anyone inside can’t escape. It should only be used if you’re not home, meaning the thieves are trapped until the police arrive.
You spent a lot of time finding the home of your dreams, and it cost a lot of money. Take security seriously by following these four steps to secure your luxury property as soon as you move in. Then, you can get started with all the fun interior design stuff!
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