Tips to improve you vacant property security

Property owners with vacant property are always given bad press for not considering the many millions who are looking for somewhere to live. There certainly are plenty of unpleasant people around have little concern for the needs of others in the community. But why would anyone willing wish to keep a property out of circulation? The more a building degrades, the more it will eventually cost to restore – giving the owner a lower return on investment.

How do you stop attacks to the building, if you are the owner but do not live on the premises? When referring to ‘attacks’, I am conscious that I am implying both man-made and natural. There are lots of different options to consider to improve your peace of mind.

The problems

When a property is vacant it is highly vulnerable to ‘attack’ from various groups of disparate individuals, including squatters and travellers and gypsies. Whereas I acknowledge the fact that some properties have actually improved when ‘squatted’, the majority, sadly, are left in a worse condition. It is a difficult exercise to get rid of people from the property, especially when they have a good grasp of the law. How to having to find a cure for a problem that could have been prevented by considering the protection of your property?

The solution

The answer lies in deploying a decent level of vacant property security in the first place. You can go down one of two routes: hire a professional company or do it all yourself. A lot will depend on the size of the budget that you can realistically afford. If you are employing the services of a professional, the first areas to consider protecting are the windows. Security screens, manufactured from steel panels, are the industry standard and would require a super-human effort to compromise. Security guards, whilst adding to the budget, provide a visible deterrent and may justify the extra expense.