Foiling thieves in real life
We went to visit friends and Mom today. When we got back we saw the electrical cord we use to plug in our vehicle outside our building was gone. Our tenant's was gone also. In the time we were away someone stole them in broad daylight.
A neighbor said he didn't see anyone take them but saw a strange vehicle pull in there. These are assigned parking spaces and generally no one else would park there. Our tenants were home when this happened and the thieves apparently unplugged the cord from our tenants truck to take it! The strange car was a purple Saturn...now we will be looking for purple cars, not that it will do any good.
2 power cords isn't a huge thing but we had to go buy replacements. It is winter and vehicles need to be plugged in to run engine heaters when it is really cold. So back into the city, to Costco we went.
While there we also bought a set of security cameras. This might seem like overkill and I discouraged my husband who wanted them when we first moved in. Things keep getting worse however. We have also had packages stolen from right in front of the door. This is pretty crazy considering we are only 30 feet from another huge building with windows looking right across at each other! We can see everything if we just look outside and the other building can too! These thieves are getting very bold and do this in the middle of the day. It is huge problem around here lately.
My husband also noticed the front door handle is all loose now and the key barely works. He thinks someone tried to break in. This is pretty scary! So, time to get a security system. Luckily Costco has a much better deal on these cameras than other places and we had our rebate to use. So that helps, but we could have used the rebate on groceries so it is still extra money that I didn't plan to spend. The cameras cost more than the rebate of course also. Now my husband has a huge job to get them all wired in. Our building has 6 doors into it and 2 doors into the garages so a total of 8 doors, is 3 stories tall with stairs up both ends leading to doors for each unit.
Always something to pop up with property ownership, just like issues can always pop up when working online! I am glad I have my husband to figure this part out!
Jessica
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It is absolutely crazy the amount of thieves that seems to just keep increasing in these areas. And broad day light.....I just can't comprehend. It seems like it wasn't that long ago so called "thieves" were at least sneaky about it and did it at night.
I am glad you guys were able to get a security system from Costco though. Please let us know when you guys are putting them up and we will come over so Jake can help Aaron.
I know! They are so bold. Drugs are a lot of the problem I guess. They are so desperate they don't even wait for darkness.
We are going to return the first set of cameras since they get such terrible reviews. We will get a different set from Costco. Those are wireless so they should be much easier to set up. We may end up getting little solar panels to charge them. Thanks though! I really appreciate the offer to help!
It really stinks that we have to think about installing cameras in and around our homes. Just the other day, in our town, some thieves were spotted (home camera video captured them) cruising through neighborhoods, checking all the vehicles parked outside, to see if they were unlocked. If they were unlocked, they took what they could. I don't ever leave my vehicles unlocked.
It's sad, but a sign of our times, unfortunately. I have yet to install cameras but have certainly thought about it. People are so brazen, I don't know if it is really a deterrent.
Thanks for sharing, it's definitely a reminder to keep my guard up.
There have been high rates of cars getting stolen around here too. They will just smash windows to take what they want also.
It is so unnerving.
Wow. This seems to be happening more and more everywhere. I think every house on our block has security cameras now. And we don't live in a bad neighborhood, but we are right off the freeway so I think the bad guys think a quick grab and steal and then back on the freeway, they'll never catch me. Also, packages being stolen off of front porches, vandalism, etc. It's really getting awful.
Yes, I am sure they do think that way. And they are probably right. They can just swipe something and get back on the highway so they would be hard to ever catch.
We are right on a residential street and that seems to have the same effect. If someone sees something they want they can just take it and off they go down the street! It seems it would be better if we had a long driveway and they couldn't just zip in to grab something.
I have lost about 45 grand of stuff here in Berdo over the last 17 years. And it is usually the person across the way or someone I was trying to help or hired that stole my stuff. Camera's are a must now and with the internet, you can see what is going on even when you are away. Calling the police here is a waste of time, they will not respond unless someone is dead in the middle of the street, so one has to gather their own prove and submit it to the police to get action. However that still does not get your stuff back, so now insurance is also included in the cost of living here in the ghetto.
In the photo, this is what I had to do in order to replace what the homeless folk in Los Angeles do to a home someone moved out of. $5000.00 in repairs for $50.00 of copper.
Oh that must have been so aggravating! Yes, we know first hand that calling the police goes absolutely no where. They don't have the manpower to keep up with so much crime and have to focus on the homicides, drug rings and major crimes.
Something to look out for. That is unfortunate that people do not respect other peoples property. What happened to the good old days and where have they gone. One thing that might help with your doors is spraying some WD 40 occasionally will keep the tumblers rolling and it may not need to be replaced. Hope this helps.
Hello Jessica. I am sorry to hear that you have been violated by criminals. The security cameras are a good thing. When thieves broke into my garage I came into the yard and they ran. My security cameras and still cameras caught them and by suppertime they were in custody. Threir 17 minutes in the yard cost the tax payer thousands of dollars and 10 months of my time before we were back to normal with insurance and the return of some of my stuff. Cameras are a good thing.
Trevor.
I think home security would be a good niche for someone.
Thanks Trevor. I am sure we will be glad we got them eventually. It feels like a big expense right now but I know it is the right choice! We would rather prevent a problem than deal with insurance etc. so I hope it deters them.
Jessica,
Have you heard of safety devices called Rottweiler’s? Lol
Security cameras are good because you can view activity from you phone and computer.
I recently had my house broken into, I don’t like the feeling after!! I think I just missed my burglars by minutes?
I put security warning stickers on Windows and entrance, just to make them think twice. Try some deterrents?
I sympathise with you. You should notify the police, perhaps they can drive around the area? I brought the Police to my place.
Wayne
We have had much larger things stolen at our last home before we moved and the police wouldn't come. I had a car broken into and a lot of stuff stolen from another already near here and the police wouldn't come. Our police force is seriously understaffed. Unless someone is physically in danger they don't come.
The criminals know this of course and that is part of why crime is getting worse. A lot of this is related to poverty and drugs and gangs. Car thefts are way up too. We have set records for highest number of homicides the last two years in a row. Per capita the homocide rate of Anchorage (we are in a smaller bedroom community now but same municipality) are the same as Detroit...the worst in the country!
My husband coordinates all the prisoner transports around here so he knows the backgrounds on most of them and recognizes them on sight.
We are in an apartment building now so we can't practically have large dogs.
Just one more reason I want to move away from the city! I am sick of these people.
We would hear gunshots often from our last home even though it was far from the "bad" parts of town. Now, we have here too. Crime is much better here but still much worse than we were expecting. We have watched people arrested and hauled off by the police from both our old house and here.
The cameras should be a huge help. There are 8 cameras in the set! We will have one covering all parts of the building outside. They have night vision etc. Most criminals just move on and don't bother with a place that has cameras for petty theft. Of course there are tons of businesses broken into and bank robberies around here too. Those places obviously have cameras and the thieves don't care. We are not much of a target though and don't have anything super valuable inside either.
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Homes really are a money pit and as much as I love mine I do not love those bills. It's always something and it seems to usually end up costing more than initially projected. I've had a home security system for many years and luckily never needed it. In New York you get a reduction in homeowners insurance premiums if you have one so it ended up saving us money there.
Yes, I am hoping the cameras will lower our insurance rates too!
Since it is a large building with 4 units we are paying almost $10,000 per year in property taxes!!!