I think I am doing SimpliSafe. Customize to what you want. Wireless. Some people don't like the barrel shaped sensors mounted on the face of doors and windows. I think a whole package runs around $500 and includes many of the most popular bells and whistles.

I had ADT give me a price. I always get fliers saying "100 free sensors, free installation, etc etc etc" but when it comes down to it, less protection for double the price of the SimpliSafe system. Plus monitoring is more than double per month.

Interested to hear what others are doing.

I don't see the point in a security system. It just tells you that someone is breaking into your house, but they'll be gone before you or the police can do anything about it.

I'd rather put the money into prevention (and that only has to be done ONCE -- no monthly fee). My thoughts:

- Use a deadbolt lock. They're not expensive, but a surprising number of people still don't have them.
- Avoid pier glass pieces next to the front door; they're easily smashed, and then the bad guy can just put his hand through and open your doorknob. These doors also tend to have only one board between them and the door, whereas other doors can have two framing boards, making them much more secure. Similarly, I like some light to come through the front door, but the windows need to be up high, too high for anyone to reach through.
- Avoid excessive exterior doors. The more doors you have, the more likely you make a mistake and leave one unlocked.
- Avoid French doors that open in the middle (meaning two doors that open -- not single French doors) because it's very easy to kick them and break the centerpiece framing.
- If you have a man door in your garage, be sure it's always locked (again, a surprising number of people leave these open, figuring it's just the garage). If the thieves can get into your garage easily, they can take their time breaking in through your kitchen door, and your neighbors won't see a thing.
- Put just as much thought into your garage door as your front door. When my in-laws bought their new house (nice house too!), it had only a hollow-core interior door between the kitchen and the garage! With the same flimsy lock that you'd expect on a bedroom door! They didn't spend a single night in the house until a real door was installed.
- Install motion-sensored lights on the front porch and at the back gate -- thieves don't want to attract attention.
- Install these lights in your foyer too. If thieves do break into your house, they may leave, thinking you're home and you have just turned on the lights.
- Plant "sticky bushes" like holly under your windows.

- Have a dog.

- If you're installing an in-home safe, do not put it in your master bedroom closet. Thief 101 is, Go look in the master bedroom closet. Put it somewhere else: In the hall closet, under a staircase, in your pantry. But don't be so obvious as to install a safe in the most obvious place.

- Don't let your house look vacant: If you're away, have neighbors pick up your mail and newspapers. Don't let your garage door stand open so people can see that no car is present.

- I would never, ever allow a company to have video monitoring inside my house. Don't you see a huge potential for trouble with that idea? Oh look, the Johnsons aren't home: I'll call my buddy the thief and tell him to head over to their house.

My husband is an officer so his patrol car parked out in front does help as does his friend who is an officer and lives across the street and has his car parked out in front. I think having a system helps with homeowners insurance as well.

I think it completely depends on where you live. If I lived in an area where break ins were not rare, I would get a system in a heartbeat for peace of mind. We live in a very safe area, and very few people have systems here. In fact my sister in law (in a million plus dollar home) still leaves her front door open all day.

It's all about deterring the casual criminal. You will never deter someone who wants something you have and is willing to do what it takes to get it.

An alarm system is one of many things you can have that will cause an opportunistic burglar to pass by your home in search of easier pickings. As are many of the things outlined by mrspete above. (Though I would say it doesn't matter much what kind of residential type door and lock you have as one swift kick takes care of the vast majority of them.)

Put the alarm company sign out by the road where a potential burglar can see it. Chances are they will go on to the next house.

Good luck everybody!

We have a German Shepherd.

Probably why many just put out the security system sign but don't actually have the system in place.

I'm always amused by all of the attention paid to reinforcing exterior doors, when all houses have windows. All it takes is a rock, and you're in. Now days, no one is outside to hear the glass break, and most people are too self-absorbed to pay any attention if they did.

Out here in rural SC, they have an interesting approach to deterring theft. A friend of mine had his shed broken into the day after they moved in to their house. The police asked if he had a gun. They suggested he go outside and fire it from time to time. That way, the locals would know that you are armed, and stay away!

I'm not sure if we'll bother with an alarm system. We don't leave anything outside, and we have secure doors that I always check before going to bed. We have a dog that sounds off, and I do have a weapon, and know how to use it if a desperate meth addict decides to break in while we're home. BTW- self-closing, fire rated doors are now code for passage between the garage and house. Our internal garage door is stronger than our front door.

I think the police car in the yard probably trumps everything else. A criminal knows FOR SURE that individual has guns, knows how to use them -- use them well, and has at his fingertips the resources to catch and prosecute him, the criminal. Only a complete moron would break into such a house.

For the rest of us, I also think the sign saying you have a security system is probably more valuable than the actual system. As a couple people said, it can be the thing that makes the "casual criminal" move on down the street to another house, but if he does decide your house is IT . . . the security system isn't going to stop him or give authorities time to catch him.

If you're getting a break on home insurance for having a security system, that's a different thing -- but do calculate the bottom line: Between installation and monthly monitoring services, you're probably not breaking even.

Keep in mind that fairly often the "casual criminal" is a teenager who can only rob houses to which he can walk, and he tends to hit during the day (either when he should be in school, or after school). I personally know three people who were victimized by this type of "entry level criminal". Thing about them is, once they're successful with your house, they tend to come back (I know, makes no sense to you and me, but maybe that's why we have real jobs instead of breaking into houses!).

I wouldn't put much belief into the "but I live in a safe neighborhood" concept. Yes, some areas are safer than others -- and I'm sure "the hood" gets robbed more than an upscale neighborhood, but anyone can ride through your neighborhood and pick out a couple houses to rob. Even if you live in a gated community, you're not immune to the possibility of a couple snot-nosed teens looking to your house for some pot money while all the adults are out working. Yes, windows lead into houses too, but the fact is that MOST criminals still use the doors. Why? I don't know. If I were a criminal, I think I'd risk going to the back and using the back door . . . but more use the front door.

Desperate meth addicts (and any number of other unsavory type folks) definitely break into houses, but the vast number of robberies happen during the day, while you're away. It is unlikely that you'd be at home to pull that weapon.

aleleux1, why did you decide to go hard wired instead of wireless? Is it a lot more expensive? (we are building a home in the near future)

We went with a hardwired system solely because we were building and we had all of the walls open at the time. The actual hardwiring was very inexpensive, but we did have to sign a 2-year service contract with the company we chose. We did a lot of local crowdsourcing to decide on which one to go with. The monthly fees I find are very reasonable as well. Our system won't be fully hardwired because we aren't going to have a landline. All of the sensors are hardwired to the actual control panel, but it will all connect to the outside world through a cellular box. It's basically like it's own wireless phone since we don't have a landline or because someone could simply cut your phone line. It plugs into an outlet that's been wired specifically for it inside of a broom closet. We can arm/disarm the alarm from our cell phones as well. We are still building so I can't speak as to how well the system works yet.

What is its cost Aleleux1?

Thanks

I could use some help. My builder uses a wireless company. I've called a couple of security companies and they all want to do wireless. What should I ask or searching for to find out about hardwiring the house? And how do you find the lower monthly charge monitoring companies? The ones I've talked to all want $45 or more...

I was wondering about getting Honeywell LYNX 7000 and http://www.geoarm.com/ for $10/month or somebody similar to monitor system.

Ours was $175, I think, for the hardwiring. It was a little more than their regular wiring because we added some glass break sensors. Plus. I think they only allowed 2 exterior doors and 12 windows. We had more than that. They can customize it any way you'd like. The monthly fee is 30/mo.

May I ask what company that is?

Apex

I asked my friends on Facebook and they overwhelmingly voted for Vivint. The technician is coming on Tuesday :)

Interesting. I ran into some info on Vivint from subscribers who didn't like it and were having a hard time getting out of the contract. Evidently they hadn't read the fine print.

Yeah golfergirl29, I've seen that too. Plus it appears expensive. I was just quoted "starting at $59 a month." Seems expensive for supposedly "free" sensors.

I would rather buy my own equipment, know I'm getting decent quality, and pay a lower monthly fee. I talked with 1 company yesterday who wanted $55 a month, guaranteed for 3 years, and then they would stay at the high rate after they've made their money back on the equipment. Doesn't make sense to me. Who usually does the hard wiring in a new home, the electrician from the builder or an home protection pro?

For us, the guys from the alarm company came in to do their pre wiring after the electricians finished their rough in, but while walls were still open.

One issue with the wireless sensors vs the wired ones is battery life - you need to make sure that the wireless sensors batteries are replaced every so often. Not a big deal but an inconvinience.

My builder says it is $2500 for hardwiring while building.

Should I wait?

Thanks

A lot of prices depend on the size of your home and the quality of the security system you choose. I really don't think you'd have much of an issue with your house, just going off of what you described. It's also a wise investment--like you said, it's an extra cost, but I think security is worth that cost. If you're still thinking about getting one for your house I would suggest asking friends and family for recommendations. Then look up security installation services in your area and see which ones have the best reviews. Good luck to you! http://www.virginiasecurity.com