When you buy a home, you’re making a significant investment with your time and money. In terms of time, the process to get a mortgage alone takes an average of 60 days when you work with a bank. Before this lengthy wait, you’ll likely spend weeks or months searching for the right home for your family. As you’re spending a large sum of money in addition to this time commitment, you want to be sure that the security of the property is up to par. Let’s take a look at the ways you can improve the security of your new house, ensuring the safety of yourself and your family in the process.

How To Improve Security When You Buy a New House

Replace Exterior Door Locks

When you move into a new home, one of the first things you need to do is replace or rekey the existing locks. If you keep the old locks, you leave the opportunity open for the former homeowners to effortlessly enter your home, not to mention family and friends they may have given keys to. Replacing or rekeying all exterior door locks is the best way to ensure that you won’t get any unwanted visitors.

You can boost the security of your doors by checking to see that each door frame is strong and the hinges are protected. If your front door has a mail slot, test it to ensure that someone can’t reach through it to unlock the door. You can also use smart locks and video doorbells for an extra layer of security on your locks.

Lock Your Windows

Next to doors, windows are one of the most common entry points for burglars. With a home burglary occurring every 13 seconds in the United States, you want to be sure that any obvious entry points into your home are as secure as possible. The manufacturer latches on windows aren’t always the most effective guards against unwanted visitors, making it even more important that you pay attention to the security of your home’s windows.

The first step to take with insecure windows is to bolster their security with locks or key-operated levers. If you’re worried about windows on the first-floor still being prone to break-ins, you can reinforce glass with window security film and install window break sensors to alert you when someone cracks the glass. Homeowners in cities will often add window bars to their first-story windows to further secure ones that face busy streets.

Install Motion-Activated Lights

Burglars tend to prefer to do their dirty work in the dark, making ample outdoor lighting a great way to ward off potential criminals. To help save your electricity bill, install motion-activated lights on your property. A sudden spotlight shining on them is typically enough to convince a potential burglar to leave your home alone. If your lights are connected to a larger automated security system, they will be even more effective in keeping you safe.

When it comes to the security of your home, you can never take too many precautions. In addition to these tips, you can install a full security system with cameras that connect to your smartphone, invest in a safe for your valuables, lock down your Wi-Fi network, and much more. By taking all of these steps, you can help ensure the safety of your family for years to come.