Protecting a Vacation Home While Away

[hpp4me]

I would like to hear from mainlanders who have a vacation home in Puna. Specifically, what options are available to protect it from vandals and break-ins while you are away? Do you use caretakers? If so, how did you find a good one? Will property management companies monitor homes for a fee?

We could build today, but this worry has prevented us from doing so.

[rbakker]

We use Alert Alarm and the vigilance of neighbors when we're away. Seems to have worked so far.

[Kelena]

I use Alert Alarm, but I think the best deterrent is actually a fence. A tall, sturdy fence (and, in the long run, a vastly expanded, well paid police force whose number one priority is larceny).

I have been fortunate to have caretakers as well at certain times. I know of two on the island. If you e-mail me, I can relay a contact for the one that I know pretty well.

[Rob Tucker]

Your best bet is good neighbors. I don't know if you own land yet or not. If not and you are concerned about home safety then look closely at your potential neighbors when buying land. You will be much, much better off with quality neighbors close at hand. If you are fortunate enough to have them then by all means take good care of them.

Punaweb moderator

[John S. Rabi]

You might want to call the Hawaii Police Department at 808.961.2350 (East Hawaii) to get their "Home Security Checklist" that is very comprehensive. It's not a full solution but it helps.

Aloha,
John S. Rabi, GM,ARB,BFT,CM,CBR,FHS,PB,RB
808.989.1314
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Typically Tropical Properties
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[Bullwinkle]

I second the use of an alarm. The alarm company calls my cellphone first (I leave it with the neighbors when I travel) and the police or fire if there is no response

Its reassuring to know that when I am not at home I will get a call if my perimeter is violated. My reporting is done via wireless - even if the phone / power lines are cut - the dialer will call out

The main deterrent is having an local alarm company sign in the yard, I don't know of too many folks willing to test if it is real or not. Me thinks (hopes) they just move to an easier target

monitoring costs about $30 a month

[hpp4me]

Bullwinkle, will Alarm Alert send people out to investigate an alarm, or do they just call the police? Also, what would you do if you got an alarm? You can't fly out in the case of false alarms.

Rob, yes we have purchased (3rd Street). I've even talked with you by phone. When we build, it will be of Castleblock materials. That's why we're not concerned about building a good 5-10 years before our retirement day. The termites won't be interested in our structure. There are a few neighbors around. We have met one of them. Nice couple.

John, thanks for the tip Re: the security checklist. That will come in handy.

Glen, don't need a caretaker yet, as we have not built. How does the caretaker thing work? Do they get a free place to live but no salary? Do they get paid, too?

We would like to build a guest house that a caretaker could occupy, but the county does not allow for a kitchen to be put in a guest house, so that approach probably won't work.

Thanks, everyone.

[Bullwinkle]

The alarm is configured to have both mechanical breech sensors and motion detectors. The alarm monitoring company can see by zone which "trips" are activated and can verify that there is indeed an intrusion. In our testing they were able to see which window I opened and my progress as I walked through the house.

Alarms if properly installed do not false alarm, and mine by zone design provides verification of an intruder. IMHO an alarm that false alarms is worse than no alarm at all, I used a hard wire ademco system made by honywell, double contacts on all windows (allowing me to arm windows while open) and hard wired infra red motion sensors in every room backing up the physical trips. I would avoid the wireless junk.

We also installed temperature sensors rather than smoke alarms for fire ... smoke alarms tend to false alarm, temperature sensors are much more stable and allow me to be a bit more adventuresome with the wood stove.

As to response ... I ask the alarm center to call me or my neighbor (if I am away) first before sending out the police. Some companies offer armed rent a cops as responders, I want the real deal cops. However I think it wise to know when armed persons on on their way, hence the phone call first.

I do have an external siren configured, I in practice I prefer silent alarms unless, I manually fire off the siren (in case I am home and need medical help from the neighbors etc) I want the buggers in the house when the cops arrive, for me its not about the stuff - its about the violation of my "space"


hope this helps

[hpp4me]

We have the same kind of system in our home. In a previous home we were getting false alarms from motion detectors. This can happen if a moth flies very close by the detector. I am not sure if the newer ones have solved that problem.

To our real estate expects...If you were designing a house from the ground up (which we will be doing), and you wanted to include a comfortable place for a caretaker outside of the main house, how would you do this and stay within in the county's rules?

[Bullwinkle]

big moth!

look at the ademco units its a brave new world out there