How to protect your home

It pays to be careful...

Taking care of your home is not only something you owe to yourself and family, it should save you money!

Reduce the risk of theft

Coming home and finding the place trashed and things missing when there hasn't been a party, is everyone's nightmare. There are around 1 million actual or attempted domestic burglaries each year but this actually only equates to less than 4% of households being victims of burglary each year*. Thankfully, due to the efforts of householders improving their home security, more than four in ten would-be burglars are unsuccessful in their attempt to gain entry. So that's good news then. But it doesn't hurt to take a few precautions. Lets face it, if yours is the easiest place to get into in the street, an opportunist will try yours rather than next door. Think about:

Good door and window locks (many insurers give discounts on insurance for these)
Install exterior sensor lights
Put interior lights on timers
Have a correctly fitted, visible and maintained burglar alarm. Don't wait until you have suffered a burglary to get one installed! Again, most insurers would give a discount for this.
Don't plant large shrubs around the front door (they could hide a would-be burglar from view)
If you live in a terraced house with a side alley get a locking gate fitted. Sometimes the local police help with the cost of this.
Ensure secluded back doors and windows above flat roofs have good locks
Lock the shed/garage
Look at the fencing, gates and hedges around your home, a flimsy trellis on the fence, a prickly holly or rose hedge could be just enough to prevent a thief leaping over to your back garden.

Prevent fire and know what to do if there is one.

There are many reasons for fires in the home but the most common cause is cooking incidents. Many fires are preventable with some simple safety measures, for example:

Keep flammable items away from heat sources
Don't leave pans unattended
When frying don't fill the pan more than one-third full with fat or oil
Know how do deal with pan fires (throw a damp cloth over it – never water!)

Candles are also very popular these days but make sure they're:

Never left unattended
Not left on flammable services that can scorch or get hot
Not allowed to burn down to the bottom of the wick
Not too close to curtains or other material

Be careful if electrical products are old or worn and ensure only qualified electricians deal with your electrics.

Fitting smoke detectors on each floor of your home, dusting them and checking the batteries are essential and cheap but effective precautions.

Think about making a fire escape plan.

You may be new to your building or have children but all should be aware how to get out if there's a fire. The best way is to have an escape plan.

Choose the best escape route from your home (and an alternative in case your preferred one is blocked by fire).
Keep both routes clear at all times
Make sure everyone in your household understands the plan and knows what to do.
Agree where keys will be kept so that everyone can find them in an emergency (but out of sight of burglars).
Go through the plan occasionally to keep it fresh in everyone's mind. Hopefully you'll never have to use your plan, but it's worth the effort if you do.
Never open a door that's hot to touch. Closed doors can hold back a fire for up to half an hour.
Block the smoke at the base of the door with material if possible
Stay on the floor or low down if possible (as smoke and heat rise)
If your escape route is via a window – throw as much soft material out first and lower your legs down before you jump.

Flooding

If you buy a new house, some surveys may let you know of your home's flood risk. With flood plains being built on, and run-off water having nowhere to go, we see increasing stories of flash flooding in the UK . It's a good idea to ask questions before you go ahead and buy. Nearly two million homes are at risk from flooding but, according to the Environment Agency, only one person in ten takes any action to prepare. Natural disasters cannot generally be predicted, but the risks can be weighed up and, if you receive prior warning of flooding, here are a couple of things which may minimise damage to your home and belongings:

Protect external doors with sandbags
If it is safe to do so and you have enough time, move furniture and electrical items upstairs and seal any delicate items in plastic bags to protect them from water damage.
If there has been time to predict the weather, then local radio/TV may also be able to give contact numbers for help.
Call your buildings and contents insurer for help and they're get an assessor out asap.

*Source - www.homeoffice.gov.uk

The Yahoo! House Price Centre is a free service from Yahoo! UK and Ireland that allows you to discover the price paid for residential property sold in England and Wales right back to april 2000, and in Scotland back to June 2003. This information is drawn from the publicly accessible Land Registries that record this information on behalf of the government.