There are many benefits to security that people often overlook. However, as a real estate investor, you should always be looking to capitalize on your investment and work to get a better return on the money you have put into your property. In order to do so, this means that you will have to invest in some cost-effective security measures that help give you more out of your property. Let’s take a look at some simple home security improvements that will help real estate investors get the highest return on investment
1. Using High-Security Door Locks
Door locks can be viewed as the cornerstone of security. This is not to say that other security measures don’t matter, but they will not work as well as they should in the absence of functioning door locks. However, there is a great deal of difference between a functioning door lock and a secure door lock. Understanding this difference will help real estate investors see that improving their door locks, and upgrading to high-security door locks will only benefit them in the long run.
Not only does this make their properties more secure, but it also increases the monetary value. The home will be more valuable, and there is also the added benefit of having lower insurance rates due to higher security. A high-security door lock should ideally consist of an ANSI Grade 1 deadbolt, as well as a Grade 1 body, which means that it will have a high UL fire resistance rating. In addition to this, the lock itself should ideally have measures in place to reduce the chances of anyone bypassing it. This means that the use of anti-snap, anti-bump, and anti-pick locks are always advised. Real estate investors can employ the services of trusted locksmiths to help install high-security door locks and improve the overall security of their property.
2. Installing Surveillance Cameras (DIY or Monitored)
Surveillance cameras are another handy improvement that will help investors get a high return on their investments. This is mostly because people no longer have to spend lots of money in order to benefit from effective surveillance protocols. Thanks to the advent of DIY surveillance cameras, investors can benefit from this as well. If however, an investor would prefer to use a monitored system, they will still end up benefiting from this.
Surveillance systems help ensure that your property is always being watched, and this helps deter crime as well as enhance methods used to track down any wrong doers. In addition, many surveillance cameras can be integrated with other smart home devices, which let you have a network of security devices in place. This simple measure of layering your security helps provide a system of backup measures in case any one security protocol should fail.
3. Improved Landscaping
One of the best security improvements, and also one of the most cost-effective, is a matter of simple landscaping. People often take the exterior of a property for granted when they are discussing security, as they spend most of their time focused on the interior aspects of security. As I hinted at in the section above, layered security is always the best way to go. This means that you are putting up multiple barriers that will help deter burglars and increase the overall strength of your security protocols. The exterior of any property is usually the first line of defense so improving this of the utmost importance. Also, the minor security improvements that you have to make to the exterior of your home are cost-effective and very high yielding.
Real estate investors should let their landscape work for them. In order to do this, make sure you plant hedges and bushes around secondary access points like windows. It’s an even better idea to make these plants thorny. This makes it harder for anyone to take advantage of your windows as an entry point. Also, using gravel and loose stones on walkways makes it much harder for anyone to sneak up to your property. These measures are meant to reduce the possibility of burglars or criminals using your exterior against you.
4. Enhanced Exterior Lighting
The use of effective lighting cannot be overstated, and real estate investors should take advantage of this simple improvement to increase the security of their properties. When it is employed in the right way, exterior lighting can help deter the actions of burglars, which keeps your investment safe. Essentially, exterior lighting helps eliminate the number of potential hiding places for burglars, and it also helps give property owners a clear line of view across their entire property.
This improvement also helps increase the productivity of additions like security cameras, and makes it easier for them to carry out their base functions effectively. For instance, with the use of exterior lighting, a security camera will be able to pick up more information, since it is monitoring a better lit environment. Real estate investors can make use of either automated exterior lights or switch operated ones.
5. Investing In Smart Home Technology
There are many benefits that smart home technology brings to the table, but people seldom take the time to shed light on the security benefits that they offer. Smart home technology can be used to make everyday life in the home more efficient and comfortable, but it can also make a home more secure. This security is crucial to real estate investors, because you want to make sure that the property you are investing is being given the utmost care and attention.
Real estate investors get a high return on investment when it comes to smart home technology, because it helps to simultaneously increase their security and the value of their property. Also, smart home technology is able to give you the benefits of multiple devices wrapped up in one. For instance, if an investor has a smart lock, with remote access and alert capabilities, installed, they will essentially have a lock that doubles as an alarm. These kinds of smart locks can be controlled from remote locations, and they also notify users on the manner in which the lock is being used. This means that if someone attempts to bypass the lock, you will be alerted.
Conclusion
The security improvements discussed above will help you increase the value of your property and increase your security, and this can all be done without you having to break the bank. Although these improvements will manifest as high yielding additions, it is always important to be aware that some of the most important tools you can use are free. These tools are awareness and the simple act of layering you security. If you utilize these in conjunction with the points listed above, your property will be more secure than ever and this will eventually equate to monetary value.
This article has been contributed our friends at United Locksmith.