NYC Apartment Security Features Worth Investing In
There are countless factors to take into account before buying or renting a new apartment. Apartment security is going to rank high up on your list. Regardless of how safe your new neighborhood is, you should always take steps to ensure that your home is as secure as humanly possible.
Improve Your Apartment Security in NYC
With over 20 years of experience improving homes in New York, NYKB knows the apartment scene well. We’ve created the following list of apartment security features we recommend investing in.
Upgrade Door Locks
With the exhaustion of a home move behind you, figuring out how to secure an apartment can be overwhelming. Home security has become a hugely expansive industry, with systems ranging greatly in price and functionality. If you’re working within a limited security budget, where should you begin? We recommend starting at the first obstacle a potentially maleficent burglar would have – the door.
Dumbo Moving and Storage, a moving company experienced in helping New Yorkers settle into their new homes, recommends that “As soon as your moving company has relocated you to your newly purchased apartment, make sure you inspect the doors – or rather the locks”. Your NYC apartment door needs to be readily equipped, preferably with a deadbolt lock. If a deadbolt lock is not already in place at the time you move into your apartment, you’ll want to install one as soon as possible after relocating.
If you’re moving into a rented home and starting a new tenant lease, we recommend asking your landlord to change all of the regular locks on the front door as well. No matter how much trust you have in your landlord, you can never be completely sure about the number of duplicate keys from previous tenants that could be circulating out there. And you want to be certain that you’re the only person who can access your home, right?
Finally, if you truly want to be sure that your apartment is completely secure, consider installing door reinforcement locks or chain locks in addition to the existing ones.
Door Security Bar
While there are many new and high-tech home NYC apartment security ideas, it’s always good to cover the basics first. That’s why all NYC homeowners should consider adding a good old-fashioned door jammer to their list of home security measures. These are pretty simple to put in and remove, causing zero damage to the door itself. They’re also great because they lack some of the usual vulnerabilities of normal locks; like duplicate keys, picking, or lock bumping. If you have a balcony, consider inserting patio door jammers on sliding doors. There’s also nothing better than a heavy-duty jammer for your front door, acting as one of the most secure doorstops you’ll find. Nowadays portable door jammers are available as well, ensuring you have that extra layer of security even when traveling around.
Covering Windows
More often than not, intruders start “shopping around” for quality targets before settling on the place they’ll attempt to break into. One of the best possible ways to improve apartment security is to install blinds on your windows. If your apartment is well lit after dark and you leave your blinds open, you’re setting up what behaves as a brightly lit stage in a completely dark auditorium. Everyone outside can see what you have inside, and whether you’re vulnerable to an attack!
Get To Know Your Neighbors
One of the most easily overlooked apartment safety tips is that the social aspects of home security can be just as important as the above discussed security measures. Striking up conversations with people who live near your apartment, and taking care to be kind and generous to them, can result in a human network that serves as an unofficial security system for the immediate community. Think of this network as a system of “human security cameras” who can be on the lookout for suspicious activity. If something fishy happens, your neighbors can be the first to call you, the police, or warn someone else in the area.
Invest In A Safe
Since no home security system is guaranteed to work 100% of the time, we recommend that you prepare for the possibility of someone managing to find their way into your apartment. The very fact that someone managed to break into your apartment does not mean that they’ll be able to steal anything of much value. For example – you could invest in a proper safe to store valuables like important documents, family heirlooms, dangerous firearms, and expensive jewelry and cash. A safe may not improve the security of your apartment, but it will provide security for the apartment contents. Doing so is not just a deterrent for burglars; it is also useful when entertaining large groups of people who may bring a guest whom you don’t entirely trust. If your landlord allows, a safe can even be bolted into a wall or put in a hole in your floor for added security.
Improve Your NYC Apartment Security
We’ve only touched on a few NYC apartment security features you can address yourself; there are also many professional security systems you can install in an apartment for even more peace of mind.
Are you looking to remodel your NYC apartment? Just moved in somewhere new? For help or advice on any remodeling or security aspects of your home renovation, feel free to contact NYKB today.
With over 20 years of experience improving homes in New York, we at NYKB have what it takes to make your home perfect.
