AlarmMySpace Home Page

17 Apartment Security Tips!

How to better secure your apartment with these 17 security tips!

Apartment Security Tips

Tip #1)

Install an apartment security system! (YES YOU CAN!)

* 3M removable adhesive allows for no mark removal!

* Comes pre programmed for a quick 10 minutes install!

* You purchase a system for around $200 and then customize the system sensors to your apartments needs, extra door sensors are $15 each, motion sensors are $30 each…

* The average apartment needs just the basic system and the added motion sensor. Cost of $230… You then own the system and can monitor it at your own digression!

* Pay just $15 a month for monitoring. Turn service on or off as needed! Take the system with you when you move!

* 3 year warranty on the system and it’s parts!

* No contracts, no commitments, no phone or internet lines needed!

* Connects cellular to monitoring station, included in $15 monitoring fee!

* Uses lithium batteries in sensors, base station needs basic power only!

* Uses multiple passwords, has key chain remote control bypass/trigger!

You can even try it out! Test drive the SimpliSafe system for 60 days… If you are unhappy they will send you a box, postage paid! SimpliSafe offers the best trial period and warranty in the industry!

Customize your own SimpliSafe system here

(For a more detailed list of features – CLICK HERE)

Tip #2)

Reinforce all exterior door frames! Changing out the locks with bump proof locks is not enough! Door kicking has become the number one method that burglars use to enter apartments and homes! Watch the videos and read the full article on “Door Jamb Failure“! Now you don’t need to install door jamb armor for an apartment, but you do need to install some sort of jamb reinforcement! The idea is to make it more difficult to penetrate the perimeter of the apartment! If an intruder gets in he can grab stuff and be gone in just a few minutes! It does make a little noise kicking in a door! The problem is that by the time your neighbor look they will already be inside. Worse, all the damage will be to the inside of the frame and on the outside everything will look just fine! Make sure you have a solid door as opposed to a hollow core door! If it’s a hollow door it could be a code violation in your township or city! It needs to be changed!

Tip #3)

Reinforce your sliding glass door! Many sliding glass doors can be lifted right out of the tracks! If you haven’t seen the videos or read the article on “Installing Patio Door Locks” (click here)! There are several defects is a patio door. First, never depend on the handle lock as your main security feature! Second, install a pin lock or a track lock if the slider can be lifted straight up and out of the track! Third, I would install a pole or board in the track so the door can’t be slid open at all!

Tip #4)

Install better locks on windows that can be reached without a ladder! Always make sure your windows are locked, reachable or not! If you have sliding windows you can install a board in the track just like the patio door! Make sure that the window can’t just be lifted out of the track! If you have windows that are single hung windows (one window sides up or down). You can cut a board and put it on top to trap it from opening! Make sure you cut the board so it fits from corner to corner! The best way to secure a window is with a window pin or screw through both frames!

Tip #5)

Get permission to install better locks on all the exterior doors! Many apartment tip lists will tell you to make sure the locks have been changed! I’m telling you to make sure they have been upgraded too! Purchase upgraded locks that cannot be bumped or picked! If you haven’t seen the videos or read the article on “Lock Bumping” (click here)! Lock bumping has become a major threat to the security of every building out there, especially apartments! Apartments make easy targets for burglars. In facts, national statistics rank apartment burglaries higher than owned residences! An apartment is just easier to scope out.

Tip #6)

Install a safe and lock up expensive items! If you have cash, jewelry, guns, etc… Lock them up in a safe that is secured to a closet wall or floor! If you get a big enough safe you can get away without bolting it to something! I was robbed in an apartment a few years back and had a 90lb safe! They carried it right out the front door! Make sure it is a real pain in the ass to carry away! By the way… The safe was empty!

Tip #7)

If you have a laptop, put it between the towels or blankets in a closet when you go out! Losing a computer is a really sad thing! Above I joked about the burglars getting an empty safe. But they also got two laptops, and external DVD burner, and some other electronics! I didn’t have the SimpliSafe security system for $15 a month!

Tip #8)

When you go out leave lights and a TV on! Don’t just leave your kitchen sink light on! That is the most common light that people leave on when they go out! If you are just leaving a few lights on then leave the bathroom and bedroom lights on! You can install timers to turn lights on automatically!

Tip #9)

Don’t ever leave notes on the door or a copy of your key hidden outside your unit! This is a really bad idea! Notes on a door just scream, I’m not home come and rob me! And leaving a key outside just defeats the whole idea of apartment security!

Tip #10)

Know the facts! Apartment are more likely to get robbed than home are! That is because they are an easier target! The most common items that are stolen during a burglary are laptops, jewelry, cash, game systems, i-pods, and guns! The majority of burglaries happen during the day, not at night! I know that one shocked me too! The most common way a burglar gets in is by kicking in the door! SimpliSafe has an 85 decibel alarm that goes off 30 seconds after the perimeter is breached! And they are coming out with a camera that will take video in Sept. 2011! There is an add on wireless siren that has 105 decibels! A smart way to put a time limit on an intrusion!

Tip #11)

Install a peep hole on your apartment door! For this you will need permission, if you already have one make sure it is clean and usable! Always check to see who is there before you open the door! If you get the SimpliSafe security system there is a key chain remote that has a panic button! you could use this to trigger the alarm if needed. There are also panic alarm buttons, you get one with the apartment alarm package, and for $20 you could get one for the front door too!

Tip # 12)

If you have a security door that leads to a hallway of apartments, make sure it stays closed and is locked! If it is constantly being propped open notify management! If that doesn’t solve the problem put your complaint in writing and try again! If that doesn’t work, notify a landlord-tenant action group for help! You have a lease and are entitled to a safe atmosphere to live in!

Tip #13)

Lucky number thirteen is to be careful when using public laundry rooms, public storage areas, and trash areas! If you have to go to a dumpster take your car and if you have an alarm system use your remote as a defensive device! Take trash out while it is still light out! Report out lights within your complex and in laundry and storage areas! Report all security concerns to management in writing! Always keep a copy of things you put in writing to a landlord or management!

Tip #14)

Get renters insurance it’s really cheap! Take photos of all the items that you have. Write down serial numbers for all the items that have value! Keep receipts for the stuff that you buy so you can show value! Mark your items with your driver license number in either permanent ink or invisible ink for identification!

Tip #15)

Make sure that your name is not written on your mailbox! The apartment number is enough or just a first name with a last initial! If a person has your last name and where you live they can search for information about you online! That could lead to a whole bunch of problems! Besides, you don’t know who lives around you! Bad people live in apartments too!

Tip # 16)

Search the National Alert Registry for possible sexual predators living near you or in your complex! Also search Family Watch Dog! Also search the FBI’s Database for sexual predators!

Tip #17)

Make sure your smoke detectors are installed and working! Make sure that there are smoke detectors throughout the building in hallways and laundry areas and that they work! If you find any problems alert management or the landlord! If they don’t fix the problem call the fire chief of your local fire department or call code enforcement in your local city or township! Wireless smoke alarms are being added to the SimpliSafe security system in Sept. 2011!

I hope you like these apartment security tips!

Here is a video of the SimpliSafe “NO CONTRACT, CELLULAR CONNECTED” security system that you can own and then monitor for $15 a month! You Can start & stop service as needed because you own the system! Don’t get stuck in a 3 year contract with those other guys!