Do you have an alarm system?

[Disneyluv111]

Who do you have it with?
Would you say the cost is worth it especially when you're away on vacation?

 

[supersnoop]

Who do you have it with? Would you say the cost is worth it especially when you're away on vacation?

The discount on my homeowners insurance more than covers the cost of monitoring.

 

[HM]

We use a regional company. Our alarm is on the doors and for window breaks.
We pay $60 a quarter for the service.
We also get a discount on our homeowners insurance.
We use it every day when we are gone and at night we also turn it on.

 

[bdcp]

Yes we do and we also have it set up so I can access it from any computer or cell phone. I can set up different codes for different people too. If we still had kids at home or cleaners coming in I could give them different codes so I could monitor them. We get a discount on our homeowners insurance. We set it every night also on "stay" but we set it for "away" when we travel so the motion detectors work also. Ours also has a smoke detector connected to it that will automatically call in a fire to the alarm co who can then call the FD once they try to contact us and determine whether its a false alarm or not. I'll never live anywhere without one again.

 

[sunnyday123]

I use it everyday, and it cost's about $100 a month, not including treats and grooming.

I figure if a 130 lb dog doesnt stop anyone, nothing else will.

 

[DVC-Don]

Yep, Time Warner Cable for burglary and fire. I can monitor and activate/deactivate it from my iPad and Android phone.

 

[Zooshoveller]

Who do you have it with? Would you say the cost is worth it especially when you're away on vacation?

Ours is with ADT.

It's not the burglary alarm I care about, it's the smoke detectors. If they go off, the fire department is immediately called and on their way. The things that are most precious to us have no monetary value, so I don't fear someone stealing them.

If your alarm goes off, they call you first then send the police, but with a fire, they send the firemen first.

 

[pk1959]

We do have one also, but I am so surprised when people say that they get a decent discount on their homeowners insurance. We insure through AAA and their discount where we live is practically nothing. I even talked to them again just last week and asked the agent if she was SURE we were getting a discount and she said "yep, it's listed on there" That being said, we still love our alarm.

 

[Zooshoveller]

I forgot to answer your second question -

Yes. It's worth every penny. Not only when we are out of town, but also when we are at work or just running errands.

DH is a service tech for ADT, and boy at the stories he tells. I will never not have one, even if I lived in an area with no crime. It's mostly about the fire safety for me. (Oh, and when the kids are teens, no way are they sneaking out! LOL)

 

[aprilchem]

We don't have an alarm system but we do have video surveillance throughout our house. We use it when we go out of town because we'll board our dogs. We have two 100 pound labs who are our security system when we are at home, and they actually did thwart a break-in attempt two summers ago. Houses around ours were broken into, at our house the burglar removed the screen and ran when the dogs went crazy at the window.

 

[xlxo]

Who do you have it with?
Would you say the cost is worth it especially when you're away on vacation?

Not yet.... but one day....

• Look at your neighbors.... do they have alarms?
• do you have someone to trust to visit the home if the alarm goes off?
• does your neighborhood have a lot of false alarms?
• how much is the monthly charges? does the cost go up with sensors and additional options?
• is there someone in the house regularly?
• have you had a robbery yet? Does your neighbors have frequent visits by thieves?
• talk to your internet provider... some internet services at not compatible with home alarms
• are power outages a concern, some alarm will stop working during a power outage
• does the alarm use the phone line? I was shocked when discovered the phone line was so accessible to a thief with wire cutters. However do you want to pay for the premium cellular option?
• do you have pets that can create false alarms?
• is there a chance someone in the home will forget the alarm codes (ie seniors?). You might want the fob option.

The concept is "target hardening"... Make the thieves go to your neighbor and not your home.... Some other options....

• security bars... you can have it done professionally or DIY w/ Home Depot. Some say bars make the home look like a prison.... instead of white bars, what about other colors like black. Some have plastic film to prevent the glass from breaking... how much is the film compared to the security bars?
• mow the lawn so it looks like someone lives there so it does not look like an abandoned drug house
• timers that turns lights on and off like someone is at home
• make sure someone is responsible to collect the mail, newspapers and flyers regularly.... not just once a week or once a month
• consider IP cameras that allow you check on your home when you are travelling. Warning, watch your monthly data cap.... some cameras will cost you 2.5/gigs a day. But you save money on monthly alarm monitoring costs with some IP cameras. Dropcam, DLink, and Trendnet are popular brands. Note some brands require "port forwarding"..... do you know how to port forward your router?
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAQONJBYGGk
• don't brag about your home valuables or electronics. I drive my electronic purchase boxes to the local recycle depot for quiet disposal instead of leaving it to the trash man to show up.
• lock your windows at night and day. Thieves can climb on objects to jump in the unlocked second floor window.

 

[Disneyluv111]

I forgot to answer your second question -

Yes. It's worth every penny. Not only when we are out of town, but also when we are at work or just running errands.

DH is a service tech for ADT, and boy at the stories he tells. I will never not have one, even if I lived in an area with no crime. It's mostly about the fire safety for me. (Oh, and when the kids are teens, no way are they sneaking out! LOL)

We have ADT pulse. They came out yesterday!
We live in a quiet neighborhood. Great small suburb but you can never go wrong with added security!

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We've had ADT for 11 years now. We're now paying a little over $40 for monthly monitoring and it started @ about $28 when we first got it. There's a motion sensor by front door and sensors on all doors and windows. All in all we've been happy with ADT but the last year or so we've had some problems and getting a technician to come to house takes usually a minimum of a week. We also have to pay a yearly fee to police department ($50). We do get a discount with homeowners but it's not that significant to make up for monthly fee, which keeps increasing. I was looking into dropping ADT and going with someone else. Wanted to go local but in my area there were only 2 to choose from and they're very poorly rated. We just had ADT technician at house this week and he came from over an hour away. I think many alarm companies just subcontract out. A company named Frontpoint is highly rated but it's something they send you the equipment and you install yourself, also if you have a problem, they send you parts and you fix yourself. Be cautious because they don't tell you that up front. Plus, with FrontPoints sell pitch they'll give you a price then say they'll drop it to this which all sounds good but then realize they really only priced out sensors for two windows and all the other windows you will have to pay extra for. With ADT. I know they have gotten in trouble with contracts with BBB. If you decide to get an alarm, just like anything else, really do your homework, know what you're getting (and not getting) and read the fine print.

 

[rock_doctor]

I use it everyday, and it cost's about $100 a month, not including treats and grooming.

I figure if a 130 lb dog doesn't stop anyone, nothing else will.

Nice. Now you have to get a huge pile of fake dog "droppings" and leave it on the front lawn. That is your security sign.

ADT is very popular in my area. I would give them a look-see.

 

[Disneyluv111]

I use it everyday, and it cost's about $100 a month, not including treats and grooming.

I figure if a 130 lb dog doesnt stop anyone, nothing else will.

This made me LOL!!!

 

[tvguy]

Yes. I have had one for 31 years. Sheriff will not respond to a residential alarm unless they get a call from someone inside the house. So having monitoring wouldn't serve any purpose. I have a loud siren and if it goes off and I am home, I'll call 9-1-1, and if I am not home, my neighbors will check.

 

[bdcp]

Yes. I have had one for 31 years. Sheriff will not respond to a residential alarm unless they get a call from someone inside the house. So having monitoring wouldn't serve any purpose. I have a loud siren and if it goes off and I am home, I'll call 9-1-1, and if I am not home, my neighbors will check.

Our sheriff will show up. If the alarm goes off and the alarm company calls and no one answers and gives them the code, they will call the sheriff. If the sheriff shows up to more than two false alarms in a calendar year, they will fine us. Our neighbors are the contact point if we're not here and we are for them too. We also have to register every 2 years (I think it's 2) with the sheriff that we have an alarm. We haven't had a break-in in our neighborhood in the 11 years we've lived here. The neighborhood over had one but that was a kid who followed his friend in who was house sitting (kind of-just watering plants, etc). He saw the garage door code and came back later to steal a few things. That was very isolated. Our county has a pretty low crime rate, but our houses are far enough apart that no one would necessarily see anyone breaking in so an alarm is a good thing to have.

 

[tvguy]

Our sheriff will show up. If the alarm goes off and the alarm company calls and no one answers and gives them the code, they will call the sheriff. If the sheriff shows up to more than two false alarms in a calendar year, they will fine us. Our neighbors are the contact point if we're not here and we are for them too. We also have to register every 2 years (I think it's 2) with the sheriff that we have an alarm. We haven't had a break-in in our neighborhood in the 11 years we've lived here. The neighborhood over had one but that was a kid who followed his friend in who was house sitting (kind of-just watering plants, etc). He saw the garage door code and came back later to steal a few things. That was very isolated. Our county has a pretty low crime rate, but our houses are far enough apart that no one would necessarily see anyone breaking in so an alarm is a good thing to have.

I agree the alarm is a wise choice, just saying here monitoring is a waste of money. But even with the requirement that the house be occupied at the time the alarm goes off, the false alarm rate last I saw was 90% in our area on residential burglar alarms.
I had a cell phone stolen out of my truck 22 years ago (back when bag cell phones were big). We have had 2 auto thefts, 3 tailgates stolen, and 2 trucks have their catalytic converters taken in the 32 years...the common denominator, every vehicle was a Toyota! And one was recovered with the only thing taken....the factory burglar alarm.! I only know of one attempted house break in, in the middle of the night when I was away on vacation.......neighbor heard something, and called 911. Sheriff got here before the burglar could get off the street, and got shot in the leg by the deputy when he tried to swing a crow bar at the officer. Tried to run still until he realized that 4 armed neighbors were standing behind the deputy!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Yes and I hate it. Every time there is a power outage, the alarm goes off when the power comes back on.

We also seem to have alot of battery issues. I'm ready to rip every sensor out of the wall and sledge hammer them into little bits.

Yes - we save a small amount of money by having it but the aggravation isn't worth the amount we save.

Oh and when we are out of town, the person who watches the house usually has at least one ooops I forgot about the alarm and how to shut it off when she opens the front door.

I have almost gotten my husband convinced to get rid of it - one more power outage should do it.

 

[kentartar]

Shotgun and Smith&Wesson