Tips to protect vacant vacation homes

The frigid winter temperatures are clearly here and it’s leaving seaside communities like Rehoboth Beach looking down right deserted. According to their police department, crime is up. From 10/01/14- 01/06/15 one burglary was recorded. From 10/01/15- 01/06/16 three have been recorded.

Jim Ippolito, a resident in the community says, “Houses are empty. It’s quiet. It’s like we live in a big estate.”

With Ippolito and his wife included, he tells us there are only four homes on his entire street with full-time residents.

He continues, “The rest of them are either family homes where they come for the summer or people rent them out weekly.”

Police say that can leave houses very vulnerable to burglaries. Detective Tyler Whitman says recommends investing in alarm systems, telling neighbors when you’re leaving, and adding home accessories like motion and timing lights. They’re pretty standard safety tips, but one you might not think of is getting rid of those “for rent” signs.

Detective Whitman continues, “It’s like an advertisement that there’s not going to be anybody there for a while.”

The detective also advices people to write down serial numbers for larger more expensive items.

Detective Whitman says, “If we do have the serial number, we can follow up on that. Without the serial number, it makes it a lot more difficult.”

If your home is unfortunately broken into, detective Whitman says, “One of the most helpful things is to not touch anything.”

If that’s the case, call 911 right away. The burglar could still be in the house. Thankfully that’s something residents like Ippolito, who has lived in the community for decades, hasn’t experienced. However, he still keeps his eyes peeled.

He continues, “Living here we know what’s normal on our street and our other neighbors do. If we notice something, we notify the police.”