How to protect your second home from intruders

If you are one of the great many people who own a second property that you let out over the summer, you won’t be alone and worrying about the security of your apartment, cottage or house when it is empty.

Once the summer season is over the property could be vacant for extended periods and empty homes can be a magnet for unwelcome intruders.
Even heavy locks and other visible security measures are unlikely to prevent determined criminals from breaking-in and the loss and damage that is likely to result can be very expensive to put right.
So, if security measures like that do not deter criminals, what can second home owners do yo prevent burglaries, criminal damage and vandalism these days?

CCTV systems

More and more people are turning to new technology to create security systems that will ensure that their second home remains secure and to detect intruders.
Modern CCTV systems are a very effective method of security. They are relatively small, cheap to install and are generally unobtrusive.
However, the one great advantage of modern CCTV systems is that they can be set up in a way that allows you see what is happening inside your second home, whenever you want and from anywhere you want – as long as there is an Internet connection.
The versatility and simplicity of such systems means that they are being used increasingly to monitor second homes and they not only deter crime but they also make identification of intruders easier than ever before.

How do home security CCTV systems work?

CCTV home security systems use a camera installed inside the empty home which is connected to the Internet. Home-owners can login and access the camera using an Internet connection while they are at home, out and about or at work. They can view it using a laptop, smartphone, tablet or from any computer to see exactly what is happening in their property, in real time.

An essential feature of these systems is that the cameras used have motion sensors attached to them. This means that if they detect movement of any nature within the property an alert will be sent out that can be viewed on a tablet or smartphone via a dedicated app.
Furthermore, the system can make a video recording of what is happening inside the property. In the unfortunate event that there is a break in, there is a video record of the intruder that can be passed on to the police, making identification and apprehension of the perpetrator much easier.
If the CCTV camera is part of a monitored alarm system, responsibility for monitoring falls to dedicated monitoring staff. They will respond to alerts, check for intruders and take appropriate action where required.
The only thing to bear in mind is that because you are streaming live video, a quality Internet connection will be required both within the second home and at the location where the CCTV camera is being viewed.