Important Home Security Considerations for Texas Apartment Owners and Renters

If you are living in an apartment, there can be the sense that someone is watching over you, seeing to your protection.  Maybe it is the communal nature of apartment buildings or the presence of security guards at all times.  What you can call that is actually a false sense of security.  Security guards making minimum wage can have a lot of things on their minds, and while many are excellent at their job, some are just curious people more worried about the comings and goings of people than their home security.  If you living in an apartment you own or rent in Texas, home security is going to come down what you alone make of it.  These tips should help beef up your security measures.

1. Be wary of the gregarious party animal neighbors.  Everyone loves a party, but it can get a little uncomfortable when that party is raging nearby at all hours of all days.  Burglars often see such party houses as easy marks – they don’t have to do much to get inside and don’t have to worry about a home alarm sounding in the middle of a dance marathon.  Once they are in the building or apartment complex, they might turn to your home.  Talk to management if you think a neighbor has crossed the line.

2. Report malfunctioning security tools.  The lights in the hallways and common areas do as much for home security in Texas apartment buildings as what you set up inside your unit.  If you see a light out or an overgrown bush near the entrance, have management take care of the problem immediately.  You don’t want carelessness like this to give criminals an easier time doing their work.

3. Get a monitoring service to back your wireless alarm.  Whether you’re renting or if you own the apartment, wireless home alarms are the way to go for small spaces.  However, you need to back it up with a quality monitoring service.  Always have a “Plan B” to put into effect if you are not home to respond, such as a neighbor you trust or maintenance personnel usually around the building.

4. Realize that decks are one of the most common entry points.  There is nothing like kicking back on a deck and enjoying the air on a nice day.  Still, since they are such a common point of entry for burglars, you can’t forget to lock your sliding door at all times.  It’s often easy to move from deck to deck in apartment buildings.

5. Get a new set of locks if your keys have gotten into wide circulation.  Whether it’s a sublet or a series of renovations in your apartment, things get dangerous when your keys get into too many hands.  Change your locks after such an occurrence, making sure to get your manager or superintendent a copy of the new key in case there is an emergency while you’re out.