Tips For Making It Look Like You Are Home When You Are Out Of Town

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When you go out of town and leave an empty house behind, one of the most frightening things can be the fact that no one is there to look after your home. Even if your neighborhood has no precedence of break-ins - and even if you have never dealt with a break-in before - this can still be disconcerting. But even though there is a lot you cannot do to protect your house while you are away, the one big thing you can do is make it look as though someone is still at home. After all, intruders are far less likely to target your home if it appears as though someone is in there.

One of the best things for you to do, in order to make it look like someone is there, is to have someone come by and get the mail. After all, it makes it quite obvious that no one has been home for a while if mail is spilling out of your mailbox! Also, if you get a newspaper delivered (or if a weekly community newspaper is tossed onto your lawn), make sure someone grabs this for you as well.

You also should move your cars to your driveway or to the street in front of your house. This will not work if you have only one car and are taking a road trip with it or are parking at the airport, but if you are getting a ride to the airport or if you have multiple cars, it is better to park them where they can be seen than to park them in the garage and leave an empty driveway!

Of course, lights are a big deal, as lights on inside a house makes it look like someone is home. Set a few of the lamps in your house on timers that will turn the lights on and off every few hours. You should stagger the times during which these lights are turned on, and you should make sure one is always left on at nighttime. Motion-sensor lights and a timer on your front porch light are also great ways to make sure intruders feel less comfortable approaching your house when you are out of town.

Lots of people take no measures to protect their home, assuming that it will never happen to them; but it takes very little extra work to make it look like someone is home, and the payoff can be huge!