Keeping your home safe is important for peace of mind, as well as to protect your belongings and keep your family members safe. Home security assessments are one way to discover potential risks in your home and take action before a situation becomes dangerous. A professional assessment is usually not something that you tackle DIY style, unless you have training in that field. Having a trained and certified professional come assess your home for safety will help you understand where potential risks exist and what you can do about it. Here are some reasons why a home security assessment is important for your safety.

Assess Your Existing Home Security

The best way to start off a home security assessment is to look at the current state of your home security. How many doors and windows have locks on them? What kind of doors do you have? How about your windows? Are you using a home security system? What about other safety features? By taking a quick inventory of the security measures you have in place, your home security assessor can get a good idea of where you’re at and what you still need. If you have security measures in place, great! If not, the assessment is a great time to identify those needs.

Check For Safety Hazards

As your home security assessor walks through your home, he or she will be looking for potential safety hazards. This is one of the first things that should be on the list of things to check during a home security assessment. Hazards could include things like weak door/window locks, house plants that could be harmful, exposed electrical wires, and more. Normal household hazards, like houseplants and electrical wires, are just a couple examples of hazards you might find in your home. Most people probably don’t realize that their house plants could be harmful to their family. Certain species of plants, like philodendrons, are toxic to humans and can even be fatal if ingested by young children. Electrical wires can be another hidden hazard in your home if you don’t have them properly covered. Other safety hazards to keep an eye out for during the home security assessment include access to your roof, chemicals stored outside, and fire hazards. Your home security assessment will help you identify these and other hazards in your home so you can take the proper precautions.

See Where You Can Improve

The assessment will also show you where you might be able to improve your home security systems. For example, if your home security system is outdated and your home security assessor recommends an upgrade, there’s a chance you might have to pay for it out of your own pocket. Or, if you feel like your system is still working fine, perhaps you can get a discount on service fees. If your windows and doors don’t have proper locks on them, your home security assessor can let you know that they need to be changed. If you have extra doors that aren’t necessary, these could be removed to help cut down on extra points of entry. Some of the other areas that might need improving during a home security assessment include lighting, landscaping, and fencing.

Determine Which Systems Are Currently Working

The next step in the home security assessment is to determine which systems are currently working and which ones need work. For example, if you have a home security system in place, it’s important for the assessor to test it to make sure it’s working properly. If there are any issues with your system that need to be fixed, the assessor can let you know during the assessment. They’ll test the system to ensure there are no issues. If you don’t currently have a home security system, the assessment is a good time to ask your assessor about recommendations. Getting recommendations from a professional is always a good idea because they will know what systems work best for your area and your home.

Take Away Points

The final thing you want to do during your home security assessment is to take away points. This is an opportunity to walk through your home with your home security assessor and take notes on areas you’d like to improve. If there are certain systems you’d like to add, now is the time to let your home security assessor know. You can also use the home security assessment as a chance to learn more about what you can do to keep your family safe. For example, if you have young children, your home security assessor can let you know what you can do to keep them safe while they are in the home.

Conclusion

A home security assessment is a great way to identify potential risks and areas of improvement in your home security. This is an excellent option for anyone who would like to have a professional look over their home security to see what needs improvement and what is working well. A home security assessment is typically done by a home security professional, such as a security consultant or an alarm installer, and is generally offered as a service during an in-home consultation.