Tips on safeguarding your home when going on trip

Editor's Note: This is the second part of a two-part series that offers tips on deterring burglars from targeting your home. This week's column offer tips to safeguard your home when traveling.

Summer is coming and many of us are planning trips to other destinations. Unfortunately, criminals do not take vacations. In the weeks to come, some of the many unoccupied homes in the Las Vegas Valley will become targets for burglars. While there are no guarantees, much can be done to reduce the likelihood that you will be come a target. Whether it is a weekend in Utah or a month in Cape Cod, you can take the appropriate steps to secure your home and eliminate the signs that advertise your absence. Locking doors and leaving lights on might not be enough.

Criminals are opportunists. They start out by going where they think the money is. They can enter a gated community by tailgating and then locate a possible soft target. They case the neighborhood. They look for newspapers left on driveways late in the day. They cruise around looking for any sign that the home is unoccupied. They are attracted to and especially like homes that are adjacent to homes with For Sale signs. A perfect target seems to be a home that sits between two homes for sale. Burglars have been known to knock on the door or ring the bell with an ear pressed up against the door. If there is no answer of it all seems to be quiet, they might try the front door or windows that are somewhat hidden from street view to see if one has been left unlocked. If all is still quiet, and if they assume the target home is unoccupied, they might go to the rear, break a door or window, open and enter. They know where to look for valuables, grab and run very quickly. Just like that, they are gone.

When making travel plans, include the following:

Employ a Neighborhood Watch-style of observation. Arrange with a neighbor to help watch your home in your absence. Consider giving them a key and temporary garage door code. Provide them with your cell number and the numbers you can be reached in an emergency. Inform your neighbor of your return date. Take your neighbor's number with you in case you want to call them while you are away. Arrange with a neighbor to pick up your mail and newspapers. Ask your neighbor to place one of his or her trash bags in front of your home on trash pickup days. Leave a general message on your phone and do not leave a message to the world on how long you will be gone. Put your electronic garage door opener in the vacation mode.

Put interior lights and possibly a small TV facing a window, with the volume turned up on a timer. The changing color pattern and louder volume is a good deterrent. If you have an alarm system, let your security provider know of your plans.

These are some suggestions on stopping burglars. Remember, they want an easy target and if your home is difficult to break into, or it appears you are home, they will move to the next one.

Barbara Holland, CPM, and Supervisory CAM, is president of H&L Realty and Management Co. To ask her a question, e-mail support@hlrealty.com. To view a power point presentation of the new laws that were recently passed affecting HOAs, visit hlrealty.com, click on press release button on the left side, then click on article title, "The 2009 Legislation for common interest communities."