A Model Home Security Plan: 10 Tips that Prevent Burglaries

When burglars hit model homes they cost more than builders may realize at first. Not only is there the expense of replacing and reinstalling appliances and furnishings, but there’s the downtime it takes to file insurance claims and handle all the other paper work. The highest expense though comes when the local news covers the model home theft… Imagine what potential buyers must think when they see the model home they just visited with broken glass and police standing outside of it.

Luckily the thieves who hit model homes have patterns, and there are many ways you can prevent burglary at your model home. We compiled our best practices and hope they help you to stop burglary at your model home.

1) Minimize Marketing and PR that Reveals Actual Addresses
Unfortunately those tour maps you made to lead people around to your model homes also help thieves plan their next burglary spree. As much as possible you want to take the physical addresses of your model homes OUT of your brochures and pamphlets. And if you work with a PR agency be sure that you don’t mention any addresses of your model homes in your local news coverage you get. Your website is another place to consider removing addresses. It’s true that potential burglars could get addresses by simply calling your sales office – and you can’t let burglary prevention get in the way of your marketing efforts. That said, there’s no reason to make it TOO easy for burglars.

2) Protect Your Model Homes with Live Surveillance Video and Crime Deterrent Technologies
Installing surveillance cameras outside your model homes could really help to deter crime. Especially if you have surveillance professionals watching the video and they can activate strobe lights and sirens to run off potential burglars. Below you’ll find an example of what prowlers do when sirens are activated:

If you’d like to discuss adding security surveillance at your model homes please contact us >>

3) Get to Know Your Model Home Neighbors
If your model home is in a residential neighborhood then you should drop by its closest neighbors and introduce your company. Bring gift baskets, shake hands and be respectful. Let them know that you’d appreciate if they’d call the police if they notice anyone at the model home after dark. Neighbors are the first and strongest line of defense in neighborhood security, and if they can put a face to your model home they will be much more likely to help protect you.

4) Remove and Reduce Model Home Signage and Other Onsite Advertising
If you’re having a home show event in a neighborhood and need to show your model homes then signs in the front yard are a must. Just make sure you take them down after the event is over, and if possible remove any signage around your development that indicates where the model homes are located.

5) Conduct Thorough Security Checks at the Close of Showing Days
If you’ve had ANY walk throughs in your model home then you need to do a security walk through before you leave for the day. This means checking windows, all doors, the garage door and any other access point that could have been unlocked. If you find anything unlocked or out of the ordinary then you know to call the police and ask them to swing by that night.

6) Keep a Descriptive Record of Prospects Who Tour Your Model Homes
It’s a good idea to keep some sort of record of the people who visit your house. Obviously you should be gathering phone numbers and email addresses, but these are easy to fake. Consider having your sales staff keep written notes of physical descriptions next to visitors, especially if you’ve had a rash of burglaries in your are recently. Recording make and model of cars would be good too, along with license plates are good. This isn’t always possible of course, and going too far could give your prospects the sense that you’re a little paranoid. If you’re paranoid that makes them paranoid and then they’re off shopping somewhere else.

7) Conduct Night Time Visits to Your Model Home
Most thieves strike at night. Visit your model home by night and try to look at it the way a burglar would. Primarily you’re looking for unlit areas that could conceal a burglar’s activities. Are all your lights lit? We’ve read of burglars visiting by day to unscrew light bulbs outside a house. Also, how much potential cover does your landscaping provide? If your model home’s privacy hedges conceal an area where burglars could load up a van then they may need to go. There’s nothing like a night time visit to see where you could be vulnerable.

8) Monitor the News for Recent Burglaries in Your Area
Burglars often strike in sprees – they work for a few nights and then lay low while they fence their goods and wait for the heat to pass. If you know that burglars are at work in your area then you can take extra precautions. One way to follow burglaries in your area is a tool called Google Alerts. You tell Google Alerts the keywords that you want to track and then they send you an email when these terms appear in news stories.

For example, if you’d like to track burglaries in Dallas you would type in:
Dallas Burglary

Here are some other examples for folks in different areas:
Austin Break Ins
Houston Model Home Burglary
San Antonio Home Theft
Fort Worth Burglaries

The idea is to think of the words that newspapers and police dockets would use to tell people about recent burglaries. Knowing that there’s an increase in burglaries in your area can help you to take extra precautions.

Google Alerts FAQ
Google Alerts

9) Be Extra Wary on Delivery Day
Seasoned thieves know to watch and learn your goods and materials delivery schedule. Be especially wary on days when you’ve just delivered thousands of dollars worth of appliances to your model homes. As disgusting as it may be, think about it from the thief’s perspective for a moment – they don’t even have to take the stove out of the wall. It’s just sitting there in the garage, new in the box. If possible vary your delivery schedules, and be especially wary immediately after deliveries.

10) Other Considerations That Add to Your Model Home’s Vulnerability
High luxury model homes are obviously more frequent targets for thieves. So too are model homes that are somewhat secluded or set back from their neighboring homes. Nearby highways make for easier getaways – this puts thieves at ease and you at higher risk. If your model home sits in a development where the other houses are under construction then it’s at especially high risk because new home jobsites are already targets for theft.

If you apply the practices above to your model home security efforts you will see a drop in loss – and we’re not just talking the cost of replacing appliances. Model home burglaries cost you far more than replacements when your story gets in the news and frightens off your potential customers!

If you’d like to discuss your model home security surveillance plan with a professional please contact us today >>