What is vacant property?
Vacant property is the property owned by someone that remains empty, with no one living in it. As a landlord, you may discover that your property has been vacant for an extended period. It would be best if you guaranteed that your empty property was as safe and secured as possible. Unoccupied property can cause many issues. When a property is unoccupied, it is more enticing to robbers, burglars, occupants, fires, arsonists, and the list goes on. As a result, you must understand how to safeguard your property, when it is unoccupied, effectively. People can also use virtual staging properties for keeping their house interior updated while being away.
Typical Issues with vacant property:
Vacant buildings are ordinary for many reasons. This is because it is empty. It doesn’t contain any valuable thing; it is valuable itself, so what from the world can go wrong with a piece of land other than natural disasters. Other than that, vacant properties are more vulnerable for many reasons; for example, thieves find it easy to rob an empty house rather than the one in which people are living; another concern for vacant property owners is vandalism, it may range from minor to extreme destruction. Another primary concern is trespassing; homeless people may seek shelter in vacant places in this process. They may cause damage to the building, and not only the trespassing break into the house but also other people may also break into the vacant property to engage in corrupt and illicit activities.
Protection Of Vacant Property
Vacant property can be secured and guarded in the following six ways:
1.
Installation and maintenance of security systems: It’s too easy to forget about locking the doors in an unoccupied building, but always double-check the doors are correctly locked also check for the alternative entrance in the house don’t leave any spare keys in the house also don’t keep them under any plant pot and also don’t keep the keys on any place visible from the windows or any visible area. Always make necessary arrangements so that all your doors’, windows garage and every entry to the house is locked correctly. Even if the house is not occupied, it is worth keeping any security system in case of any mishap, installing an LDR system is also a great idea to deal with burglars.
2.
Maintenance of property internally and externally: Visit your property as often as Possible. Try to pay visits weekly or at least monthly. If you are not living close to your property, ask any of your friends or neighbours to visit your place at least monthly. Paying regular visits to a property makes it look occupied and act as a crime deterrent. It will also help you be aware of any issues or damages and let you solve them before they become worst. If none of this is possible, contact a property maintenance professional who can do this job well. The visitors should check the external condition of the house and the internal conditions of the house, and maintenance regularly should be preferred; all this makes the house look occupied and decrease the chances of any crime scenes.
3.
Utilities check: While your home is vacant, it’s a great idea to turn off the utilities like water, fire, etc. to reduce the chances of any significant internal damage. However, it is recommended to turn on the heating systems in winter and cooling system in summer as to maintain the temperature because machines, if not used, can deteriorate over time.
4.
Smart home devices: Advancement in technology has introduced many new useful smart devices, which reduce the intensity of loss or prevent loss completely. Technology advancement in this century is at its peak. Technology has introduced ways of monitoring your property by seeing it but also listening to what’s going on if someone rings the bell, you can even talk to them and also you can install LDRs which will notify if someone is standing in the range of your property, even if they don’t ring the bell.
5.
Vacant property insurance: If you have a plan of leaving your house empty for more than a month, then do not take responsibility for your own security, instead take out insurance. These kinds of insurance policies provide security for up to 60 days of vacancy. So, if you have planned a long summer break or for any other reason, you are leaving the house vacant, try to purchase unoccupied property insurance to be on the safe side.
6.
Hiring us to protect your vacant property: the best way to protect your vacant property is by hiring us. We will keep on top of property security whilst you, or your tenants, are away. We can conduct regular patrols to deter and prevent vandals, thieves or unwanted visitors. If you want to hear more about our vacant property solutions get in touch.
