- How can you secure a second home between visits or during the offseason?
- What role can professional security play in protecting a second home (whether it’s a cottage, summer home, or second full-time residence)?
Michigan summers are unrivaled in their beauty, with many flocking to the lakeshore or to Northern Michigan to enjoy blue skies and clear waters. Many Michiganders have cottages, summer, or second homes to visit regularly throughout the season, leaving the stressful vigor of work and routine to soak up the Midwestern sun.
Of course, owning a second home can be a source of stress in and of itself. Most people with a cottage or second home visit on the weekends or for a week here or there, meaning the residence sits empty for some time. Few are able to enjoy their second home full-time for the summer, but even then, most of these properties sit empty in the offseason, leaving them vulnerable to burglary and to the elements—especially in Michigan.
Luckily, there are a number of ways savvy vacationers and second home owners can secure their home-away-from-home in these intermittent times, and year-round. Here are eight tips we’ve put together for second home security.
1. Entrust a maintenance person or caretaker
Paying someone to check in on your property is an easy route to heading off some of the more costly threats to your second home—a leaky faucet, a faulty furnace, or signs of suspicious behavior. The benefits of entrusting maintenance personnel is that the same person checking on the problem can often fix the issue themselves.
Just as importantly, the recurring presence of a trusted person on your property is a key deterrent against burglary. In 2023, the FBI’s Union Crime Reporting Program shared that of arrested burglars, only 12% say they planned the break-in in advance. This goes to show that more than 75% of home break-ins are opportunistic. An occupied home prevents windows of opportunity.
2. Befriend the neighbors
Hiring a maintenance person isn’t always financially feasible, but befriending the neighbors is the next best thing. Befriending the neighbors means connecting with community members equally invested in the safety of your home and its surroundings. These relationships, additionally, can be mutually beneficial. On weeks or weekends when you’re not present at the second home, they can keep an eye on the property, and vice versa. If you know them well, you may even consider exchanging keys, or sharing a security code so they may give the property a quick look-over in the event of suspicious activity or environmental troubles.
3. Secure the perimeter of your home
Locking doors while you’re away may seem like common sense, but the statistics say otherwise. Over 30% of burglars gain entry through unlocked doors. Ensuring the perimeter of your home is secure is ground zero, which includes doors, windows, and all alternative entries. If you’re looking to step up property protection, professional home security offers more concrete peace of mind. Intrusion alarm devices, such as monitored door contacts, window contacts, and glassbreak sensors serve as additional deterrents and mean immediate alert in the event of a break-in.
Electronic door locks also offer advanced protection, replacing lock-in-key only doors. These entry points can be locked or unlocked from your trusted phone, and can be programmed with a code for convenient access. One might, for example, provide their neighbor with the door code, rather than a physical key. This way, it can be re-programmed and access can be revoked at any time. Additionally, you’ll never have to worry you’ve left a door unlocked again. Check the door’s status on your smartphone, and lock and unlock remotely as needed.
4. Invest in fire alarm and CO detection
Your second home should be a safe haven. Protecting the property while you’re away is important, but it’s even more important to ensure its safety while you’re there. Monitored smoke and carbon monoxide detectors allow you to maintain oversight of your property from afar, and alert you to the presence of life-threatening elements. A monitored fire alarm system can dispatch emergency services within moments of detecting an issue, whether you’re home or away. These devices are commonly referred to as “life safety devices,” and it’s for a reason! Rapid response by a professional monitoring center may prevent the fire from spreading throughout the property, causing untold damage.
More on professional monitoring in a minute ..!
5. Maintain your second home and keep it well-lit
Putting a little elbow grease into keeping your property presentable goes a long way. Maintaining your landscape, cleaning your windows, shoveling snow from a driveway in the winter, and keeping the property well-lit makes it less desirable to burglars. Again, this comes back to the idea of opportunity. Most burglars prefer to break-in to empty homes under the cover of foliage, darkness, or other obstructions. The installation of motion lights, upkeep of your lawn and drive, and more, can run important interference.
6. Install water-leak and temperature sensors
Intruders are not the only threat to your second home or cottage. Water damage and frozen pipes are standard hurdles in Michigan homes, and can cause major damage if not detected quickly. This risk is only amplified for homes that sit empty part-time. Security companies like ours provide flood detectors for placement around sinks, sump pumps, or anywhere water is likely to leak. The earlier you detect a property leak or drop in temperature, the better chance you have at fixing the issue before major damage occurs.
7. Rely on a professional monitoring center
The best thing you can do to protect your second home is to have a professionally installed and monitored security system. The truth is, you, your maintenance person, and your neighbors cannot be everywhere at once. A professionally-monitored home security solution provides 24/7 protection, 365 days a year. However far away, and however often you visit, monitored smoke alarms, CO detectors, motion sensors, door and window contacts, flood sensors, and more, offer priceless peace-of-mind.
At EPS Security, our in-house Monitoring Center is operated by members of our local communities. Located at our security headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, our EPS Monitoring Center was named The Monitoring Association’s “Monitoring Center of the Year 2022 – Small/Medium Business.” At all hours, our highly-trained operators are just an alarm signal or a phone call away.
8. Stay connected with smart home devices
Twenty-first century technology makes it easier than ever to stay connected to your second home. For instance, with the EPS Total Connect remote platform, you can check out your porch or patio with exterior Wi-Fi cameras, see who’s at your front door with a video doorbell, or arm and disarm your security system for a neighbor—all from your smartphone.
With EPS Total Connect, you can receive real-time alerts from your security system, and interface with your home settings from afar. Another handy feature, when integrated with compatible smart home devices, is the ability to set schedules or “scenes.” For example, if you’d like to give the illusion that someone is home on Mondays, between 6 and 9 PM, simply set your system to activate living room and patio lights during this given time.
The EPS advantage
With professional home security and the right security partner, the opportunities are endless. As a local, family-owned, and full-service security provider, EPS Security has served as Michigan’s safety expert for decades. We equip Michiganders with customized security systems to fit their unique safety needs, whether that’s securing a second home, monitoring a primary residence, or protecting a local business. With four locations across the Great Lakes State, our team travels from bridge to border.
Ready to boost the security of your Michigan home? Submit our free quote form below, or continue exploring our page to learn more.