When Your House Gets Robbed

Last weekend my stepson came to visit for the weekend and he told us that a few days prior, his house had been burglerized. He was travelling when he was notified that his next door neighbor had interrupted the theft in process. It seems that his neighbor (a fireman) had noticed a strange SUV parked in his yard in the middle of the day. At first the neighbor assumed that someone was doing house repairs, but the location of the car just didn't look right. So he walked over to the car only to surprise 4 young men in the process of loading the house contents into the back of the SUV. They bolted as soon as he called 911. Two were apprehended within 30 minutes while the other two were expected to be caught.

So now my stepson has the tedious job of trying to find out what is missing. The insurance adjuster has visited, and he will be compensated for most of the material possessions. But the insurance company cannot compensate him for the feeling of violation that he's now left with. He has also had an alarm installed.

Most of us can recount a similar story for ourselves or someone close to us. It's been over 20 years, but I returned home one evening to find the house wide open, the cats scared to death and lots of jewelery and other items missing. We never got any of those possessions back, but we learned how to make our house less inviting to burglary.

Putting lights on timers, making sure that old newspapers are not left lying in the driveway, and locking all windows and doors are basic rules. Keeping shrubbery low and well trimmed makes it hard for a would-be thief to hide while trying to bust open a lock. And making friends with the neighbors (especially one that is home during the day) is a great advantage. But there are lots of other tips I see from time to time and http://www.simplychecklist.com/ will soon have a checklist that you can use to guide you. If you have tips you want to see included, please leave comments on this post.

In the meantime, you can find a useful checklist for protecting your identity at Identity Theft Protection Checklist and tips for leaving your home temporarily empty. Stay safe!