A home is a place where precious moments and priceless memories reside. It is also where most of your belongings are. These belongings sometimes mean a lot more than common material. They are what you worked for for years and many of us feel proud about them.

Should a fire or a burglary happen, proper insurance is essential so you don’t loose all value. But you’ll have to replace your belongings and it also takes a lot of time to get back what you have. However, a home security system can prevent many bad events before they happen. This is why it is clearly a tool to consider including as a home owner.

Now what? How to choose it? There are so many different systems out there that it can become overwhelming.

Knowing Your Needs

The choice made is mainly related to your needs. How many windows do you have? How many doors? Would you like them all to be protected by the home security system? Where would like the control panel to be? Would a keypad be useful for you (that’s basically something similar to a remote control)?

Wired Vs. Wireless

For many years, home security systems all required wires. It sometimes results in higher installation costs due to the wires going throughout the home walls. In case you need to change your system, they are chances you’ll have to change the wires as well and pay higher costs for installation once again. Nowadays, wireless home security systems exist. Some, like the SimpliSafe Wireless Security, can even be installed by yourself so you save more money. Therefore, it can be worth comparing the upfront cost of both systems but also monthly or repairing fees that may occur before taking the decision.

Monitored or Not?

Depending of your home area, having your system monitored can be justified… or not! For example, if you live in a place where many burglaries took place in the last years, it may be a good idea to have it monitored. It might also be the right choice is you live in the country where you don’t have close neighbors that can alert the autorithy if needed. Monthly fees apply for monitoring.

On the other side, if you live in a quiet neighborhood where your neighbors know you, it might not be worth to monitor your system. Then, you need to be confident that the loud alarm will be noticed by them and proper action will be taken.

Motion Sensors

These sensors seem to be worthwhile at first thoughts. You may want to consider your lifestyle before installing them though. If you have young children getting up in the middle of the night or a teenager with big night appetite, you might want to skip them. Another reason why motion sensors can be a bad idea is a pet that roams the house at night. This type of lifestyles might result in unwanted alarms in the middle of the night!

Consulting Reviews

My last tip would be to consult some reviews about the systems that attract you the most. Having an input from users can never be denied. You can search and easily find them over the web.

What about you? Would you consider having a home security system?

Mike

Mike

Mike, aka The Dividend Guy, authors The Dividend Guy Blog since 2010 and manages portfolios at Dividend Stocks Rock. He is a passionate investor.