Tips to Protect Your Home Away from Home

Do you own a rustic cottage or a high-end chalet? Chances are you store your ATVs, water skis, and other valuable items to enhance your vacation. However, even if you go to the cottage to unwind at every opportunity, your vacation home may stand empty much of the year. So, how can you protect your expensive entertainment systems and belongings from burglars and natural disasters such as fire and flooding?

Follow the tips below to secure your cottage and ensure that your second home remains intact for future generations. thinkpro — memories, belongings, expectations. Protect them all.

Tips to Protect Your Home Away from Home

Don't leave valuable equipment such as kayaks and ATVs outside while you aren't at the cottage. Instead, put everything away in a locked shed or another storage area. Ways to make your cottage less attractive to would-be thieves include the following:

• Keep expensive electronics hidden inside the cottage so they aren't noticeable to anyone scanning your vacation home from the window.
• Lock all cottage doors and windows before you leave.
• Keep canoes and other small boats out of sight of passing watercrafts and vehicles.
• Store away deck furniture for safety and visibility.
• Consider paying someone to maintain the property while you're gone. An unkempt lawn signals an empty cottage.
• An electronic timer can turn on the lights to make the cottage appear lived in. Turning the lights on also helps you detect suspicious activity.
• Install a thinkpro DIY alarm system to secure and monitor the property remotely.
• Install motion-sensing cameras to record break-in attempts and notify thinkpro’s Private Guard service. Doorbell, indoor and outdoor cameras can also help you monitor your property remotely. Additionally, this service provides professional monitoring with no false alarm calls to the police.
• Putting up no trespassing signs and installing a front gate can also deter potential thieves.

You may also want to join or establish a cottage watch organization. This can help you get to know your neighbours and get more friendly eyes on your property while you're away.

thinkpro’s Home Disaster Kit

It's also important to protect your cottage or chalet from natural disasters such as floods and fires. thinkpro’s home disaster kit can help you detect danger and alert first responders to save your property.

The disaster kit includes sensors for flooding, heat, and freezing temperatures.

Flood Sensor

If your vacation home or cottage has a basement, a flood sensor can trigger an alarm when water levels rise. Repairing damage from floods can cost thousands of dollars, particularly if you have a finished basement. Minimize damage by installing flood sensors and call for help should a problem arise.

Freeze Sensor

The Home Disaster Kit comes with a freeze sensor that monitors the temperature of your property. If the temperature at the cottage falls below 4.5° C, you receive an alert on your smart phone. Depending on how you set up your system, you can adjust the temperature remotely or ask someone local to do it for you.

Heat Sensor

The heat sensor can help keep your furnace from overheating. It triggers an alarm if temperatures surpass 38° C. When you receive the smartphone alert, you can remotely adjust the thermostat, if you have that capability, or check out the cottage in person.

We also recommend installing a smoke alarm, which may be required by your local zoning regulation anyway. A smoke sensor protects your property even if you can’t be there.

thinkpro offers a Home Disaster Kit to safeguard your cottage. For more inexpensive ways to protect your vacation home with DIY home security projects, call us at 1-855-76-THINK or 1-855-76-84465. thinkpro — protecting your dreams and everything else.