Home Alarm Companies

[anarchy]

I'm renting out a townhouse in Coventry and my tenants called me on Friday letting me know the house was broken into. I'm going to get them to change the locks and I offered to pay for half of the installation of an alarm system if they wanted to install one.

Any recommendations on which companies are reputable and what the costs might be for it?

(On a side note - are dead bolts easy to break into these days? I thought it was near impossible and that's what I have on the doors there but apparently the cops came and said it's easy these days. I went to look and took pictures too and there's absolutely no sign of entry, not a single scratch on the outside so I'm baffled as to how they would break in.)

[ExtraSlow]

Anything that takes a "regular" key is easy to get into using a "bump" key. deadbolt or not.

There are several threads on home alarms, but I'll say here what I've said in there. you want the lowest monthly cost, and lots of stickers and a sign in the yard. United used to be the cheapest, and back when I used them, they were no hassle to deal with.
If you do get an alarm, give a shout to your insurance company, you might get a tiny discount.

[anarchy]

I didn't know that - so is there a point in changing out the deadbolts then? A friend mentioned something called a
Door Guardian (http://reviews.canadiantire.ca/9045/0462599P/the-door-guardian-the-door-guardian-reviews/reviews.htm), not sure if that might help.

I tried searching alarm companies, alarm company and home alarms but couldn't find any other threads on home alarms. I'll check out United, I've been seeing that ADT sounds good but don't know how much it is.

[killramos]

Vivint is highly recommended here on beyond from past threads. I use ADT personally but they haven't been quite as good as i would like (might look into either upgrading the system or switching providers), their alarm systems are highly tiered based on features and that affects monthly and initial costs substantially. Many places should be able to offer free install and equipment on a contract.

I thought that most lockmakers have adjusted their designed to compensate for bumpkeys by now though slow?

IMO ( though your tenants will never admit it ) No signs of entry generally means the door was unlocked, they had a key, or they found a key ( re idiots who leave keys under the front step flowerpot). Simplest solution is always the answer, rather than a targetted theft by someone who knew how to key in with a tool.

:dunno:

[cet]

The home show starts on Wednesday, there will probably be a couple there you could check out. I have Securtek monitoring mine

[trevh]

As a former 911 call taker, don't waste your time with alarm companies. If your home is being broken in to and the alarm company phones police, it will be dispatched on a priority basis (usually the lowest priority) if it's a Friday or Saturday night it can take hours for them to be dispatched.

[ExtraSlow]

I used to pay for an alarm, but in my opinion, the only valuable thing they provide is the stickers and the sign. I cancelled my contract and I still have the stickers on my window.

[anarchy]

Originally posted by killramos
Vivint is highly recommended here on beyond from past threads. I use ADT personally but they haven't been quite as good as i would like (might look into either upgrading the system or switching providers), their alarm systems are highly tiered based on features and that affects monthly and initial costs substantially. Many places should be able to offer free install and equipment on a contract.

I thought that most lockmakers have adjusted their designed to compensate for bumpkeys by now though slow?

IMO ( though your tenants will never admit it ) No signs of entry generally means the door was unlocked, they had a key, or they found a key ( re idiots who leave keys under the front step flowerpot). Simplest solution is always the answer, rather than a targetted theft by someone who knew how to key in with a tool.

:dunno:

Well from what he told me, his 14-year-old daughter was home, went for a walk and left through the garage, came back and saw the front door was open. She locked it, went upstairs and heard the door open and close again so that's when she called the cops. Nothing was stolen. Also, two days prior their car was parked on the driveway, his gf came to grab some stuff from the car at 6AM, forgot to lock their car door and went to leave at 6:30AM but someone had went through their car and took some change. The cops seem to think it's someone across the street in the condo building watching them.

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, but, something doesn't seem to add up. I'm not sure who would watch a potential target across the street from where you live at that time in the morning, know you didn't lock your door and go through it for really nothing. Then break into the home at 5 in the afternoon in broad daylight on a Friday in a very busy complex. The condos right across the pathway from townhouse is 4 stories with tons of windows facing my front door.

Oh well, nothing I can do about it but take their word and do what I can as a responsible landlord to help out.

[Mitsu3000gt]

For the most part, locks just keep people honest. Most people's doors are easy to kick in, or if not, there will be numerous ground-level windows that they could just break into even if you had vault doors all over your house. You can get something like a Bolt Buddy as well if you want kick-in resistance. Sounds like that isn't your issue though.

If you are worried about lock picking (cheap locks can be picked in a matter of seconds by someone with a lock picking gun or some skill), look into MUL-T-LOCK. They are basically unpickable, you need photo ID in person to get a duplicate key made, and the hardware itself is much more substantial (more resistant to break ins, but the wood around your door will probably break first anyway). They also come with a second key that can re-key your lock simply by inserting the key into the lock. Very slick system. I am in a condo with no windows at the entrance, so I moved to MUL-T-LOCK and I am very pleased with it.

Alarm systems are useless IMO. Just get a sign and a sticker. If someone breaks in despite the sign or the sticker, it's unlikely they will run off when the alarm sounds. Response times are so slow anyway the attacker/thief will be long gone before anyone shows up who can do something about it. You're better off getting a dog haha.

http://alinelocksmiths.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/multikey2.jpg

[silvercivicsir]

where does one the mul-T-lock from ?

[bspot]

I have a monitored alarm, but keep the monitoring just for fire purposes.

If the noise of the alarm doesn't chase them off, they have plenty of time to grab my stuff before the police make it.

[ExtraSlow]

There are a few versions of that lock system. Medeco and Mul-t-lock are the best known.
Most locksmiths in calgary have something like that available.

I had some good chats with the "high security lock company" a while back about these systems. They aren't cheap, but they are really well made locks, so aside from the extra security, they just work really well.

[Skidro]

My dad runs his own alarm company, if you are interested just pm me for details

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by ExtraSlow
There are a few versions of that lock system. Medeco and Mul-t-lock are the best known.
Most locksmiths in calgary have something like that available.

I had some good chats with the "high security lock company" a while back about these systems. They aren't cheap, but they are really well made locks, so aside from the extra security, they just work really well.

Yeah pretty much this.

Aside from it being a WAY better lock (seeing it compared to the old one the lock smith took out was night and day), it just works super well. Everything is buttery smooth and the operation is flawless. The deadbolt also has little ball bearings on it to keep it in place in the receiver. Your door frame will break before the lock ever does.

Also if I ever lose a key or have someone steal it, I just put my other key in the lock and now the lock is instantly re-keyed to the other key, rather than me having to go buy another $250 lock and pay someone to install it.

[trevh]

Originally posted by bspot
I have a monitored alarm, but keep the monitoring just for fire purposes.

If the noise of the alarm doesn't chase them off, they have plenty of time to grab my stuff before the police make it.

This- fire is dispatched right away! 5 units to be exact

[anarchy]

I chatted with my tenants and we're probably not going to go with alarm company at this time - it doesn't sound like it would help too much.

If my condo board approves it we'll look at installing a security camera and motion sensor light.

Any recommendations?

[ronaldo]

Originally posted by Skidro
My dad runs his own alarm company, if you are interested just pm me for details

PMd