Your rental property becomes more than just an investment when you rent it out. It is now a home to your tenants, which makes it a bigger responsibility for you. You must therefore take measures to prevent crime in the premises of your rental property, and ensure the highest standards of safety for yourself and your renters.

The following preventive steps can help minimize the criminal activities around your unit and make your Merced property a safer place.

Check For Security Issues

The first thing you can do to protect your property is check if there are any security issues in the house. You can take a short tour around your home and identify the concerns with door latches, windows locks, deadbolts, backyard, and parking area, and resolve it on priority.

While securing the front yard of your home is essential, it is also crucial to make your backyard, garage, and shed, if any, more secure. Fix the broken doors and windows, use chains to lock your belongings, or keep them out of sight. Consider fencing your property off. It creates a barrier for criminals.

Improve The Lighting of Your Property

A fully lit place is an instant theft deterrent. It will be difficult for thieves to sneak in if you have motion sensing flood lights in your porch and driveway. You can add focus lamps or sensor lights around the boundaries of your property, such as the main entrance, backyard, parking area, and garden.

Install outdoor lights to cover sidewalks leading to your door, decks, patio, and stairs. Many owners and tenants tend to switch the lights off during the night. However, this increases the chances of a criminal intrusion.
The best practice is to keep the lights on when it’s dark outside. You can install energy-saving lamps if you’re concerned about the electricity bill costs.

Trim Tall Bushes

Burglars or vandals can easily hide among tall bushes and sneak into your house. It is, therefore, essential to regularly trim tall bushes and hedges that grow along walkways. Don’t let it cover windows and doorways. You should be able to see the outdoor area by sitting inside. You can cut the grass yourself if you have gardening tools or hire a professional landscaper to trim the unnecessary shrubs grown in your area.

Install Home Security Gadgets

One of the most effective options to safeguard your house is to install advanced security gadgets. Install digital door locks and CCTV cameras so that you can keep an eye on visitors and secure the main entrance of your house. Add an alarm system in the front and the backyard for security alerts.

If installing home security gadgets is too expensive, you can also paste home security stickers on the doors and windows of your house, to reduce the odds of a criminal breaking in.

Educate Your Tenants About Best Practices to Keep the Home Secure

You can educate your tenants about the best practices to secure your home and add those to the lease agreement as well. Prepare your tenants for the worst situations and educate them about handling digital security systems, maintaining landscaping, locking doors and windows at night. Also, provide an emergency contact number. You should also motivate them to call the police and the neighbors for action when they notice a serious threat or an evidently unusual activity on the property.

A trusted Merced property management company, such as River Drive Properties, can help you in taking effective measures for securing your asset, for a rental property exposed to a criminal neighborhood can be an obstacle in attracting potential tenants. If you upgrade your house with advanced security systems and personnel, you can assure a longer rental occupancy rate and good returns on your investment.

Our property experts at River Drive Properties, can help you prepare your rental unit against criminals and vandalism. Contact us at River Drive Properties for more help in this regard.