There’s no doubting that we think differently about things we do in our lives before we’ve experienced them, and after we’ve experienced them. The wisdom of hindsight often makes you see things in a completely different light! While there is no substitute for the experience of actually choosing, installing and using a monitored alarm system, today we’re aiming to use the comments of real homeowners to give you a bit of insight into the future – and also help you get a little of the ‘wisdom of hindsight’ in advance! In that spirit, here are the top tips from real homeowners about home alarm security systems.
“You have to have a VERY reliable phone number not to use monitoring”
The experience of many home owners is that when a self-dialling alarm system goes off, their phones are either flat, unattended, out of range or busy. Argh! Monitoring guarantees that whether you answer your phone or not, someone will be there to protect your home and family.
“There’s a lot of variation in alarm quality – cheap is not usually good”
Moost homeowners find that when they buy a home alarm system off eBay and install it themselves, the problems start not long after. Alarms go off for no reason; battery backup doesn’t work, the sirens can’t be heard unless you have your ear to them, or there is a problem with the dialler so you are never notified that you house alarm system is going off. Professional is best!
“Silent is best … unless you choose something REALLY loud”
Mildly loud alarms seem to do little apart from notify the burglar that they only have a little while to finish stealing things. Exceptionally loud alarms create a chemical imbalance in our inner ear that makes it unbearable to be in the place; silent alarms mean the thief can be caught in the act and made to face the consequences. The advice is to choose a system at one end or the other of the scale!
“Sometimes police won’t attend a call out unless there is a keyholder on site”
Some people with non-monitored security systems have found that, in some states, police won’t come to a house to check on an alarm activation unless there is a keyholder on site. In other states, they just need to be advised of whether there is a keyholder or not. Of course, if your alarm monitoring services company is attending, they can provide a key.
“You’ll feel differently about whether a back to base alarm is ‘worth it’ after you’ve come home to a burgled house”
The experience of coming home to find that people have been through all of your things, perhaps desecrated parts of your homes, smashed photos or written threatening messages on the wall is a traumatic one. People who have been through it understand that they never, ever want it to happen again.