LIFESTYLE

Home Help: 4 smart reasons to upgrade your home security system

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If you install a new system in your home today, you'll find it easier to secure and control your home, while burglars will find it harder to pull off a home heist. (Brandpoint)

If you install a new system in your home today, you’ll find it easier to secure and control your home, while burglars will find it harder to pull off a home heist. (Brandpoint)

TIP OF THE WEEK

Think of what has changed forever in the span of a decade. How do you watch movies at home? You’ve replaced the DVDs with digital streaming. How do you send a picture of your kids to your parents? You skip the printing and post it on social media or send a quick text.

Another thing you can add to the list of next generation living is home security. If you install a new system in your home today, you’ll find it easier to secure and control your home, while burglars will find it harder to pull off a home heist.

Today’s best security systems come with smart home technology and a mobile app, which allows you to remotely control your system as well as other devices like locks, lights, video cameras and even your thermostat. Modern systems also offer enhanced protection from crime, with professional monitoring for emergencies and wireless communication that can’t be defeated by a semi-savvy burglar with wire cutters.

Smart features: One of the biggest challenges with traditional security systems is forgetting to arm the system. Once you leave home, you have no way to control it. Thanks to smartphone apps, that’s all changed. You can arm a modern security system with a tap on the screen of your smartphone, whether you are upstairs in bed tucked in for the night or hundreds of miles away on vacation.

Real-time news: An older system would only alert you when an alarm was set off. Today’s systems can alert you to a range of events via your smartphone.

Upgraded protection: Older phone and cable-based security systems are easy to defeat because a burglar can cut the wires outside the home. The best modern systems use a wireless cellular connection to communicate. Even if your power is disabled or WiFi signal goes out, your home security system keeps you safe and connected.

Other emergencies: Tied into modern security systems is the ability to detect other emergencies in your home, such as detecting smoke or a carbon monoxide leak. These systems are also capable of alerting you when a water pipe bursts, so you can take action to prevent costly water damage.

— Brandpoint/Alarm.com

HOME-SELLING TIP

How to pick comps

When you’ve decided to sell your home, setting the right price is key in getting it sold quickly. One of the easiest places to start is by researching comparables, or comps. Comparables are recently sold properties in a neighborhood that are similar to your home in size, age of home, location and other amenities. Ideally, you want to find comps that are close to your address, but some neighborhoods are wildly different from house to house. If your house doesn’t match your neighborhood, be sure to venture out to others in the vicinity that more resemble your home. Also be sure to select the most recently sold homes (from the previous 3-4 months) to get the strongest bearing on what your home will bring. The more comps you find the better, but as few as 2 or 3 can get you an accurate estimate as well.

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DECORATING TIP

Decorating your kitchen with function

Open shelving in the kitchen ensures the most used items are within reach while simultaneously delivering an airy feel. Customized to fit any space, these shelves effortlessly draw the eye to perfectly-organized dishes, cookware or dry goods. Complemented by a sophisticated backsplash, unique shelving materials such as galvanized iron or reclaimed wood can transform the kitchen into an industrially-inspired space, while floating shelves in white oak or black walnut provide a more contemporary note.

— Brandpoint

GARDEN GUIDE

Mulch not just for keeping weeds away

Mulching your garden or flower beds is a great way to keep the weeds under control, but mulching is also important for keeping your plants and vegetables warm in cold weather. Because decomposing organic matter creates heat, a substantial layer of mulch can help protect roots and bulbs from frost seeping into the soil. The fall and winter months also tend to be dryer, and unprotected soil loses water faster than in the spring or summer. Mulching will help trap moisture in the soil, which the root systems will use to build up nutrient reserves while the plant is dormant.

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