3 Smart and Simple Holiday Home Security Tips
‘Tis the season to be jolly!
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah or another holiday in December, it’s a great time to get together with family and friends.
We light candles. We eat meals. We give gifts. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Except when it is not! Disaster can strike even during the holiday season. Prepare now and don’t sweat it in December.
Here are 3 smart and simple holiday home security tips you need in your life!
Holiday Home Security Tips To Sink Your Teeth In!
In the past, we’ve talked about holiday home security tips right here on this blog.
Here are our previous tips:
5 of the best home for the holidays security tips
3 smart home security tips for a worry-free holiday season
How to prevent being a burglary victim during the holiday season
But…
We dug deep and came up with 3 additional holiday home security tips to share with you.
1 Prevent a Home Fire
1 If you have a wood stove or fireplace in your home, get your chimney swept this month. As it gets colder, we will be looking for alternate sources of heat and fireplaces that are not swept cna catch on fire, easily. There might be a build up of soot, or a bird may have nested and obstructed your chimney. Either way, protect your home and your family and get this service scheduled asap.
2 Alternatively, if you do not have a good heating source and you are looking at space heaters to warm up your home, please, please please be aware of the dangers of space heaters. Do not use them without supervision. Do not use them when you sleep. Do not use them near flammable materials. Do not plug them into extension cords. Space heaters cause a lot of fires each winter. If you must use them, please take precautions.
2 Time your Lights
More often than not, burglaries happen during the day and are an impulsive act, meaning – a criminal sees an opportunity and jumps on it. Those burglaries that happen at night, are often premeditated and planned out. To prevent being a targeted victim of a home burglar during the holiday season, put your holiday lights on timers. Better yet, put them on timers and on your smarthome system so that you can adjust the timing of them daily if you are not home! Lights that pop up at the exact time each day, day after day, can signal ‘We are not home’ to a criminal.
3 Use Your Sound System to Your Advantage
Much like the lights deter criminals, turning on tunes to keep them away works as well! Smarthome homeowners who have a surround sound system can time (and chime) music to be played. Who knew jingle bells could prevent break-ins? If a criminal sees lights and hears music played, they will move to an empty house.
FACT: Burglars do NOT want to confront homeowners. They rather go to a home where it is dark and quiet!
Let Strand Security Help You Keep Your Loved Ones Safe!
What Brands Give the Best Overall Value for a Home Security System?
The Best Brands for Home Security Systems
What do you value in a brand?
Is it
- longevity
- durability
- customer service
- innovation
- integration
When it comes to home security, we at Strand Security believe that ALL of these are important! When it comes to our own family, and our customers, we want the best systems for the best pricing. We want you to have access to the latest technology and we want it to be affordable.
Here are 3 Home Security Brands that Provide Excellent Overall Value!
1 Honeywell Total Connect
We love Honeywell Total Connect! Many of our customers have a home security system that allows them operated their smarthome and to check in from afar using the Honeywell Total Connect app.
As we live in a hurricane prone zone – the coast of South Carolina – having a remote app to check in on our home when we can’t be there provides peace of mind during a stressful time like a mandatory evacuation during a hurricane.
Honeywell is a reliable brand, integrates well with other products and has been around for a long, long time.
We stand by these products.
2 Alarm.com
Newer to our Strand Security family is the brand Alarm.com.
Much like us here at Strand security, the folks at Alarm.com protect and trust their own family with the brand Alarm.com.
We think differently at Alarm.com. For more than 20 years, we’ve been pioneering smarter solutions that deliver total protection for millions of homes, businesses, and families – including our own. What’s the difference? Get to know us and some of our customers here.
Whether you need to secure your family, your home, your business, your assets like boats, commercial real estate or motorcycles, trust Alarm.com to be there when you need them!
3 URC Smarthome Automation
What’s NOT to love about URC Smarthome automation?
The URC company is on the cutting edge of technology, adding more and more of the latest and great tech innovation to their products. They have become a trusted brand for us at Strand Security, not just on the Home Security side, but on the Commercial Security side as well. Check out this story of a commercial install in North Myrtle Beach, using URC!
For your home, URC will change automation once and forever.
Do you think that voice commands to change the setting on your thermostat is exciting?
Wait until you learn more about window shade automation! If you dream it, you can automate it.
Local Security Company + Premium Brands = Perfect match Up
No matter what your home or business needs, trust Strand Security to help guide you to the right system and the right brand for your budget and needs!
Give us a call to get started.
The 2022 Home Security Trends You Don’t Want to Miss, Myrtle Beach!
Grand Strand and Myrtle Beach Area Population Boom in 2022!
We are almost into the second quarter of 2022. Spring is here and we are looking ahead to what else is to come in 2022. Myrtle Beach, Horry County and Georgetown county are booming!
Houses can not be built quickly enough for the demand. Older homes are getting facelifts and updates while new homes and whole new developments are popping out of the ground like mushrooms.
While we love the Grand Strand – we live and work here just like you – we are well aware that crime rates go up when the number of residents keep increasing.
Home security along, with location, is a huge factor when looking at who might be a victim of crime and criminal activity. While you can’t always just up and move your home to a new, better, more secure neighborhood, you CAN update your home with the latest trends and technology.
Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand Residents: Here are the 2022 home security trends you don’t want to miss!
1 More Smart Home Integrations
Homeowners are waking up to the fact that technology is here to stay and technology is our friend – and can make our lives so much easier.
While smart homes and smart home technology isn’t new, there are a few trends to look for in 2022.
They include
- Smarter sensors (see #4 facial recognition)
- Energy efficiency is one of the top requests from homeowners: devices connected to thermostats, window shades, electronics and solar panels all help to reduce energy waste and cost!
- Health tracking and health management while at home can now be integrated with smart home technology as the system can communicate with healthcare providers and caretakers in real time!
2 Security Drones
Back in 2017 we wrote about drones as part of looking ahead to future security concerns. We quote:
“New technology will enable drones to be part of your home security system – if not now, in the very near future!
In this article in Digital Trends we read about a new home security system that deploys a drone to patrol your property! Sounds like something out of a sci-fi book? Think again! The technology is here and soon most, if not all, security systems will have this capability. This article predicts
“The idea of a security camera that doesn’t fly will seem like the dark ages.”
That will be an amazing day…!“
Well – it’s here. It took only 5 years, but we now do have drones with security cameras that can be employed with smart home technology to scout your property! It’s a new trends for 2022 and an exciting one to boot!
3 Universal Home Automation
We love love love automation – but there are so many options! Google, Apple, Ring…
What coming is more ways to link to any smart speaker and provide you with full control across multiple environments.
We predict you can expect the security of your home to be more streamlined and connected to all other smart home devices in the near future.
4 Facial Recognition
Mentioned above in #1, the newest trends is facial recognition with the assistance of AI, for home security. This will replace keyless entry with number pad or fingerprint and over into to facial recognition for optimal security!
5 Remote Video Monitoring
This is a new service that will come into being: not just home security monitoring, but actual video monitoring services.
With regular home security monitoring, an alert goes out when an armed door or window is unlocked or opened, or when there is movement if sensors are activated.
Remote video monitoring would include constant monitoring in real time offered as a service to those who want peace of mind – think elderly parent living home alone, or a preteen home after school.
Get Your Home Security Up-To-Date for 2022, Myrtle Beach
We stay on top of the latest trends, brands and technology so you don’t have to. Come talk to us.
Another offering that we might see more of from 2022 is remote video monitoring services. This ensures potential emergencies and criminal activity can be spotted and prevented before they become a bigger problem.
Are Home Security Systems Worth Investing In?
☆ Are you on the fence about purchasing a home security system?
☆ Are you not 100% convinced your home needs a security system?
☆ Are you afraid of the cost associated with a home security system?
If you are, you are not alone.
Cost is one of the deciding factors for many homeowners as to whether they go with or without a home security system.
Don’t wait for until you need us because then you are too late! Quite a few new customers come to us with recent trauma of being victimized in their own home.
Today we will answer the question whether a home security system is worth investing in!
Investing in a Home Security System. What is it Worth to You?
Peace of mind goes a long way, and until you’ve lost peace of mind, until you’ve lost that feeling of being safe and secure in your own home, you don’t know and can’t understand what it’s like to be a victim of a home invasion or burglary.
Victim report feeling scared, upset, victimized and are afraid to be in the one place that should make them feel safe.
Why would you want to wait to find out what that feels like?
We bet you have
- health insurance
- homeowners insurance
- life insurance
all because you are thinking ahead!
Having a home security system is like having insurance for your personal and mental well-being!
What Does It Cost to Get a Home Security System?
No matter where you live, right here in South Carolina like we do, or elsewhere, home security systems are affordable for almost all homeowners.
Systems come in all shapes and sizes and monitoring can start for a little as $30-$50/month.
The total cost of the system installation depends on several factors like
- current equipment
- size of the home
- brand
- integration with other home systems
The simplest of simple home security system is better than not having one at all, since having an activated system will deter potential criminals from coming into your home!
If a Home Security System Is An Investment, What Do You Get Out of It?
There are several GREAT things you get out of investing in a home security system.
- The first thing you get is peace of mind for all parties. Parents, babysitters, teenagers etc.
- Next, you should talk to your insurance company and submit a request for a reduced home insurance rate
- When you do have a system in place and an incident occurs – fire, medical emergency or breakin, help is on the way quickly, without delay!
- Last but not least, when circumstances do changes i.e. you have a new baby, hire a sitter, are ready to leave your child home alone after school, or have an elderly parent move in, you are ready to adjust your system to your new circumstance.
Integrating Your Home Security System with Your Other Systems
Did you know what your home systems can all work together? We at Strand Security would love to help you make the most of your current system. Maybe you need new cameras? We can help!
Strand Security is a locally owned and locally operated security business. We live where we work, just like you.
And the answer to whether a home security system is worth investing in… is yes! If you need one more reason, consider this: if you are interested in selling your house at some point, having a fully wired and ready-to-go security system installed is a selling point!
Give us a call soon.
9 Questions to Ask Your Home Security Provider
Are You Looking For A New Home Security System?
You might be in the market for a new home security system if you
- recently moved to the Grand Strand
- just bought a new home
- currently are in the process of building a new home
- are the victim of a recent crime
- found your home burglarized
- have watched the crime rate in your neighborhood explode
- not long ago had a baby
- changed jobs
Changes in lifestyle, location or family life all contribute to a search for added security.
You’ve Got Home Security Questions, We’ve Got Answers
Who should you go to when you have questions about an existing system, or if you are interested in purchasing a home security system for the first time?
A local, locally owned and locally operated home security system provider has all the answers to any of your pressing questions, of course!
In the Myrtle Beach and Grand Strand area, Strand Security is the company that fits that bill. We serve customers in both Georgetown County and Horry County.
We have an active Facebook Page where we can answer questions, but better yet, we are available by phone or service email anytime!
Frequently Asked Questions About Home Security
Here are some questions we get frequently.
- Is wireless security better than wired security?
- Do I need security cameras?
- Will I be able to have remote access to my new system?
- How secure will my home be while I am away?
- I don’t have a lot of money; can I still afford a system?
- Can you help make my home into a Smarthome?
Read these answers and many more on our Strand Security blog. We are glad you are here already; did you know we have nearly four years of articles and information available for you to research?
9 Questions to Ask Your Home Security Provider
If you are ready to go ahead and purchase a home security system, here are 9 questions to ask your home security provider.
We’d be happy to help you keep your home safe and secure for those you love!
- How long have you been in business?
- Are you licensed?
- What equipment (brands) do you use?
- Who monitors your systems?
- What is the average response time to emergencies?
- How much is the install?
- What is my overall cost?
- Will I get a yard sign and window decals?
- Does your system help me qualify for a home insurance discount?
Home Security = Peace of Mind
What Are Your Family’s First Demands For The Best Home Security?
Protect Your Family With the Best Home Security
Is that a question, or a demand?
We know the truth! Of course, you want to protect your family with the best home security.
However, you might be searching the Myrtle Beach & Grand Strand area for
- the best home security
- a most affordable home security system
- reliable home security
- friendly business owners
- a locally owned, and locally operated business
- a security company with many years of experience
- certain brands of equipment
- monitoring services with super fast response time
Whatever it is that is most important to you, know that we value the same things as we live right here on the Grand Strand ourselves and want to protect our family, just like you do.
We will work with you, your budget and your needs, always.
What Does Your Home Need To Protect Your Family?
If you are a new homeowner, you’ll be (most likely) new to home security too.
Protecting your family goes beyond protection from a home invasion or burglary.
Here are additional sources of danger
- Home Fires; prevention with fire alarms
- Carbon Monoxide Poisoning; prevent with CO alarms
- Break-ins; Alert authorities instantly with monitoring services
- Home Invasion; Identify and locate suspects with security cameras
- Trespassing; Deter trespassers with automatic floodlights
- Drowning; Alert homeowner to movement in the pool, or opening of a door to pool deck
- Falling; Personal panic buttons can help an elderly person call for help when needed
What your home needs is up to you; consider your security company a valuable partner in selecting the right equipment to keep you and your loved ones safe!
What Does Your Family Want To Feel Safe?
Now that we know what you want, and what equipment is needed to keep your family safe – and to get the best home security for your family – let us look at what your family needs to make it all work!
Your spouse, teenager, babysitter, elderly parent, or child needs
- easy access
- easy to use equipment
- panic buttons
- monitoring service
- voice commend
- remote control
Right?
Many more families these days have multiple generations living or working together.
This means that multiple people will be using your security system and you will need the equipment you pick to be easy in use and access. Most likely, you will want remote access to your cameras and system!
Click here to read more about multiple generations & home security!
What Is The Best Type of Home Security For Your Family?
We can only answer this question of ‘What is the best type of home security for my family’ if you answer a few questions of your own first!
It all depends on these factors
- What can you afford to spend on equipment (i.e. cameras, sensors)?
- How much can you afford on monitoring services each month?
- Will there be changes in your family size in the upcoming years? (look at least 3-5 years ahead)
- Do you prefer working with a locally owned and operated business owner, or a large franchise?
We will be happy to help you figure out what your home needs, what your family wants and what you can afford!
Can I Keep My Family Safe Without A Security System in Place?
We can’t guarantee it.
Why would you want to? Is saving a little bit of money each month worth not having peace of mind?
How much are you spending on health insurance, homeowners insurance, car maintenance, and your pension each month? Safety and security are clearly important to you if you pay those bills.
Without a security system in place to keep those you love safe, be prepared for feelings of
- fear
- guilt
- regret
Now, who wants to live like that?
Get started today – give us a call and you’ll be feeling much better!
Keep Your Home Secure While You Are on Summer Vacation!
Summer Crime Statistics and Break-in Numbers
For many law enforcement agencies, crime spikes during the summer. Crime statistics indicate warmer cities, however, often don’t experience much change. It’s generally cities in colder climates and tourist destinations, like Myrtle Beach, that experience the largest monthly changes in reported crimes.
Why is that?
Summer is supposed to be the best time of the year, but it sure brings out the worst in some people. A study released by the US Dept. of Justice found a definite correlation between the season and the crime rate. Researchers found that crime rates are often lower in the fall and winter while peaking in the summer. Some of the summer crime rate increases were significant.
On the Grand Strand, we also have a spike in crime rate due to an influx of tourists visiting our area. As our population swells in the summer months, so do crime rates!
Summertime = Burglary time!
From one of our earlier articles:
2 million home break ins are reported each year in the United States!
30 percent of break ins occur through an unlocked window or door.
66 percent of all break ins are residential break-ins vs business break ins.
The highest percentage of break ins happens during the summer months.
Homes without security systems are up to 300% more likely to be broken into.
How can you protect what is yours in this type of environment?
Before You Go on Vacation
Make a plan to keep your home and other assets safe while away.
Failing to plan is planning to fail!
Instead, follow these guidelines.
- Talk to your neighbors and tell them you’ll be away.
- Be aware of the recent crime rate in your neighborhood and what is being done about it.
- Double check all your locks and make sure all windows and doors are secured.
Having someone keep an eye on your property is a smart way to go on vacation and come home to an undisturbed home.
If you have a great security system and a monitoring company keeping an eye on your home while on vacation you have the best solution!
While You Are Away
Smart burglars – and yes, there are some smart and sophisticated burglars and thieves out there – will avoid confrontation. They do not want to come to your home while you are home. They do not want to break down a door, they’d rather find one unlocked. They do not want an alarm set off. They’d much rather burglarize a home without a system.
Here are 7 ways to protect your home while you are away (for the day or) on vacation!
Watch Your Home From Afar; The Best Option to Secure Your Home
Wouldn’t love to be a ‘fly on the wall’ to keep an eye on your home while away?
You can be!
With our Honeywell Total Connect App, you can monitor your home (or any other asset) from afar from your phone or tablet, in real time!
- If someone tries to break-in, you’ll know!
- If your water heater breaks and water starts to flow throughout your home, you’ll know!
- If a fire breaks out, you’ll know!
Doesn’t knowing this give you peace of mind while on vacation?
Have Fun This Summer, Prepare Now.
Don’t delay talking with your friendly, local security company! Whether you need a new system installed or you want an upgrade with more cameras and newer technology, we at Strand Security have you covered!
It’s not too late to protect your assets this summer!
How To Find the Best Home Security Deals
You Want The Best Home Security Your Money Can Buy, Right?
Of course, you do! Who wouldn’t want to check out the best home security deals in town?
We at Strand Security understand that, like us, you work hard for your money and you need to stretch that income as far as you can. You need a deal! The best deal! You need to find the best home security deals your hard-earned money can buy.
Where do you start?
We’ve compiled a list of places for you to look for the best home security deals – check it out!
Ask Your Neighbors for Security Company Recommendations
Ask your direct neighbors which security company they use, for sure, but next time you talk a walk with Fido, go for a run, or drive your car home from the grocery store, pay attention to the little signs in your neighbor’s yards!
Ask your Local Friends for the Best Home Security Deals
Are you on Facebook? Do some crowdsourcing and ask your local friends via Facebook to recommend a local security company.
Do you have friends who live in a different neighborhood? Ask them who they use.
If any of your friends own a business, ask them what local security company they use.
Do a Google Search for the Best Home Security Deals
Google is your friend! Do a simple Google search for ‘best home security deals’ or ‘home security company’ or something similar. Compile a list of companies who serve your location. Be aware that those who run Google ads will be listed first. Just because they pay to market doesn’t make them the best fit for your needs. Check beyond the first few and compile a list of at least five choices. Next, check to see if any of these companies have (positive) Google reviews.
Check Web Presence of Local Security Companies
Once you have a list of local security companies, we suggest checking out their web presence. Look for an ‘about’ page, location map, brands they use, a blog (like this one) and pictures and/or videos. If you can’t find a website, skip them.
Check Social Media Presence of Local Security Companies
While on the website, click through to their social media channels. Look for a Facebook Page to start and see if they have any (positive) Facebook reviews. Check to see if it is active, what is posted and when they last posted and maybe send a message to the page to check response time. Online customer service should be expected, not be the exception.
Check with your Local Chamber for Local Security Companies
Once you have your list, cross-reference your list with the local chamber. Locally owned companies are most likely active in the community and active with the local chamber. This should not be a dealbreaker by any means. However, we think you should give those who are members an extra gold star. 😉
Select and Call Local Security Companies
Now that you are pretty certain you have a solid list of local security companies, call each and everyone to find the best home security deal.
Pay attention to the following when placing a call.
- phone etiquette
- call return time
- overall customer service
- friendliness
- quality of information
- the quantity of information
“If someone doesn’t treat each and every potential customer with respect, that same person will not treat a customer with respect either.”
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