Home Security: Easy and Cheap Ways to Increase Your Home’s Security Based on Burglars’ Habits

I wrote on home security here before, but two events made me want to mention it again especially in the Holiday Season:

• My sister and her husband became a victim of larceny. Without their knowledge or permission (!), their cleaning woman had brought a helper with a long rap sheet of arrests for drug dealing. He (or perhaps she with him?) stole irreplaceable items (hidden, but that didn't help). Even a $30 money box could have prevented this.

• A really clever trick to scoop out burglary targets. This happened to me shortly before Christmas a few years ago: a neatly dressed man in a black SUV pulls into our driveway and says he's ready to take us to the airport now. My first instinct was to say "but we are not leaving until Wednesday". But I shut my trap just in time. Instead, I explained that we're not travelling anywhere over the Holidays. He apologised and left - one house less on his list of potential burglary targets. 

That in mind, here are some interesting tips from one of my favourite websites, Lifehacker:

Most burglaries occur between 10 am and 3 pm.

Burglars look for homes that appear unoccupied. Consequence:

• If you're out of the house during those hours and are concerned about burglaries in your neighborhood, consider setting a random timer to turn the TV or radio on during those hours.
• If you have a second car, keep it out in the driveway while you're at work. Or, perhaps you can rent your driveway during the daytime (besides making your home less attractive to thieves, you can make a few extra bucks. Win!). Park Circa is a website where people look for a parking spot, perhaps also in your neighborhood.
• Schedule gardening services or other home maintenance services like window cleaning during those prime theft hours.

The typical burglar is a male teen in your neighborhood – not a professional thief – and 60 seconds is the most time burglars want to spend breaking into your home.

Enough security to thwart a regular person may be sufficient (and pros are difficult to deter anyways):

• "My scary dog runs faster than you"-sign may be one of the most effective theft deterrents, other than—or in addition to—actually owning a scary dog. (Even a small dog prone to barking helps, though.) 
• Regular "beware of dog" signs work too, especially if you add some additional supporting evidence of dog ownership, like leaving a dog bowl outside by your side door.
• Deadbolt locks, bars on windows, and pins in sash windows may be effective theft deterrents. Make sure every entry point is locked.

Homes without security systems are about 3 times more likely to be broken into.

• In lieu of actually signing up for a home security system, you could just buy decals and signs from ebay or elsewhere. Place the decals on your front door, where the majority of thieves enter.

Thieves enter through the front door, first-floor windows, and back doors, followed by the garage, unlocked entrances, and the basement (in order of popularity).

• Look at reinforcing all of these entry points.
• Make sure those points of entry are well lit (motion-detector lights are inexpensive and don't use a lot of energy).
• Clear thief-hiding shrubbery close to your house.
• Best places to put your security cameras: front and back door, first floor windows (Lifehacker featured quite a few DIY ones using old webcams or your PC.) 
• Fake security cameras placed at those points might also be effective.

An average of 8 to 12 minutes is all a burglar spends in your home.

So make your valuable objects harder to find within those 12 minutes:

• The dresser drawer, bedroom closet, and freezer are some of the first places thieves look, so forget about those hiding places. Instead, consider hiding things in plain sight. 
• Get a safe, which you secure to floor or wall as well as hide it.
• Perhaps set up a red herring for possible thieves: Leave out an old laptop the thief can quickly grab and go. 
• Even better: install Prey to track the stolen laptop.

Protect your home while on vacation.

• Make sure help from friends or neighbors includes little things like putting out garbage cans, getting mail, maybe even cutting the grass.
• Don't forget the daily stuff like stopping newspaper and mail delivery, if you don't have someone picking those up for you.
• Use a random timer on your indoor lights or TV.
• Create a home inventory – for which there are plenty of good tools – and take lots of pictures of the place before you leave.

Got any tips of your own? Please share!

Via Lifehacker

Impressions from Design Miami

Calling Design Miami an "appendix" to the annual Art Basel Miami would be unfair. 

The show, billing itself as "the global forum for design... in celebration of design culture and commerce" takes place in a rather large white tent erected in a parking lot next to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Once you found the entrance (on the north-east corner), you encounter an – at times stunning – collection of high-class pieces, albeit some with extraordinarily high-class prices. I'll get to that in a bit. 

On Tuesday, the show opened its doors, for collectors and the press. Easy to imagine what calibre of collectors get first dibs here. To the public it opened on Wednesday and runs until Sunday. If you're a modernist, you should go; details are here.  

Graciously invited (thank you very much, Brittany) to the Vernissage, which took place Tuesday evening, here are some scenes that caught my eye:

Wooden gazebo in front of the entrance by David Adjaye, 
winner of the show's Designer of the Year award.

A leather craftsman at Fendi. Yes. Fendi.

Melting Chairs at Industry Gallery.

Indescribable spatial feeling that can't be photographed (by me): a room-filling chandelier, made from white porcelain by Jenne Quinn. Todd Merrill 20th Century Gallery.

Detail of a large wall-installation by Jenne Quinn, Todd Merrill.

Room divider and art, made of lacquered wood, Galerie Seomi.

The most visitors, and the most styled ones to boot: Audi stand (official VIP transporter, 
with a fleet of A8 outside). Highlight: savouring Veuve Cliquot on a pressure-sensitive LED floor, by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels. Turn-off: all-male bartender crew was hired purely on over-the-top arrogance.

Where do you meter the photo, on the brilliant white paint of the concept car or?

A Nakashima wall case and what the gallerist called either "wall art or a coat rack" by an unknown artist. Crappy photo–sorry. Great piece.

No, you can't faint into these: chairs by Jean Royere for the Queen of Saudi Arabia, 
ca. 1950. The pair for $180,000 at Magen H Gallery.

Extraordinary ceiling-mounted chandelier (isn't it, or is it a "lamp"?) 
by Jeff Zimmerman at R 20th Century Gallery.

The next cardiac arrest: stunning desk by Jean Prouvé at Gallerie Downtown. Sold to a collector before the show for an undisclosed price. Asking was € 350,000.

Whimsical floor lamps by Studio Job, at Galerie Vivid from Amsterdam.

All photos ©tckaiser

Florida Real Estate Markets dominate Top-10 Turnaround Report

Miami was the top "turnaround town" in the country in the third quarter, according to a report from Realtor.com. The rankings look at median price appreciation, reductions in age of inventory and inventory counts, along with unemployment rates.

Miami has one foreclosure for every 407 homes, an improvement over the national rate of one out of every 213. Condo sales have also increased 79 percent in the first five months of the year.

Six Florida markets were included on the list, with Fort Lauderdale ranked fourth.

Read on at Realtor.com (via theRealDeal.com)

Cash Buyers Rule

A phenomenon certainly not limited to the South Florida real estate market, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports that the vast majority of home buyers in Broward and Palm Beach County are paying for their deals in cash, whether they hail from America or abroad.

That represents a marked shift since the years of the housing boom ca. five years ago, when approximately 10 percent of sales in Broward and 19 percent in Palm Beach County were cash deals.

Now, more than 60 percent of the September transactions in Broward and Palm Beach counties were from buyers paying cash – twice the national average.

"The cash buyer is the market right now," said Mike Pappas, president of the Keyes Company. "It's amazing to see the number of cash transactions in the marketplace. It boggles your mind." (Full article: Sun Sentinel via WPTV)

In addition, when I look at the modernist market data for October and first week in November, I not only observe the usual seasonal amount of cancellations and temporary withdrawals – people want to forget the global crisis and rather nest, instead of having buyers trample through cocktail hours and dinner parties.

There also is a noticeable number of transactions hanging forever in pending or backup status, finally falling through and being cancelled or sometimes marketed again. And quite a few deals go to cash buyers at lower prices than to those with financing clauses.

For now, the cash buyer rules.

Quiz: What Type of Buyer Am I?

Do you let impulse rule your decisions, or are you a more methodical consumer? Your past spending habits have a lot to say about what type of home buyer you'll make.

Take this quick quiz to see your strengths and possible buying pitfalls.

1. I save money: (a) on a regular schedule; (b) when I have money leftover; (c) pretty much never. I have very little savings.

2. When I shop: (a) I use a list; (b) I do pretty good about remembering what I need; (c) I tend to buy things that catch my eye.

3. How important is it for you to appear well-dressed and successful? (a) I know it's important for things to look good, but I don't like to overspend (b) looking good is worth spending a little extra money (c) I live to look like a million bucks!

4. I tend to return purchases to the store: (a) not often; (b) once a month; (c) all the time. If you have a receipt you can return it!

5. I have a car that I: (a) own; (b) make payments on; (c) lease.

6. Before I make a big purchase: (a) I research the latest prices and trends; (b) I think about what exactly I want to buy; (c) I've generally just gotten a raise or bonus.

7. Large purchases make me feel: (a) like a grown-up; (b) a little uneasy; (c) successful and in control.

If you answered mostly a's then you are a careful, methodical shopper. Your strengths in the home buying process are clear. You won't make an impulsive decision. Changes are you'll shop around a lot before you make your final choice. You have plenty of money saved. You are very money conscious. You and homeownership should have a beautiful relationship.

If you answered mostly b's then you tend to pretty good with your money. You don't overspend, but you should focus on saving more. Homeownership comes with a lot of unexpected expenses. Build up an emergency fund and a downpayment account.

If you answered mostly c's then you need to beware. You could very easily be an impulsive shopper. Looking good is really important to you, so be careful not to overspend on a home. You also may have a hard time with commitment. You may lease your car or return items to stores. Be sure you spend time running real numbers and putting together a solid plan for buying before you start the process.

Via Realty Times. Cartoon ©Matt/Daily Telegraph

Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC

Raleigh, NC, is going for architecture.

At least some times. (Endangering buildings such as the international-style offices at 419 and 425 North Boylan Avenue dull the shine a bit).

Aiming for good architecture is excellent. It's also more unusual than it sounds. Think "though the Spirit may be willing, the Flesh is weak".

A bit clearer: between politico lip-service, commitment and final action lie several abysses.

While architects and Raleigh's citizens are proud to watch Frank Harmon’s AIA-NC Center for Architecture and Design in Raleigh grow towards completion under much attention, a smaller gem has already opened earlier this year: The Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) of Raleigh.

Local architects Clearscapes and LA-based Brooks + Scarpa got to work and re-adapted an existing warehouse CAM owns in Southwest Raleigh’s “Creative District” to become the museum’s main exhibition space. The new design encompasses 20,000 sf (1,900 sm) and features perforated screens on the entrance canopy, a signature Brooks + Scarpa element.
 
Curious? Read on here:

• ArchitectureNewsPlus has elevations, floor plans, more photos and an architects' statement
• The Contemporist has more details
• New Raleigh reported several times about the project, including its opening

Details:

• Project name: Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) Raleigh
• Client: Contemporary Art Museum
• Location: Raleigh, NC, United States
• Program: Exhibition spaces, archive and art storage, educational center, administrative offices, catering kitchen, sculpture garden
• Area: Total Square Footage: 22,300 sf (900 sf new entry lobby)
• Year: Completion 2011
• Cost: $5,800,000
• Architects: Brooks + Scarpa, Clearscapes 

 

Photo © John Edward Linden

___________________

I.M. Mima, 22 Dec 1920 - 14 Oct 2006 

I.M. Steven Paul Jobs

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. 

And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

– Steve Jobs (24 Feb, 1955 – 5 Oct, 2011), American computer entrepreneur and inventor, co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Apple Inc , at Stanford University Commencement Address June 2005.

The modern world owes him; immensely so.

_____________________________________________ 

This blog created on a Mac, as is all my work since 1992.