Home Security systems....

I've done alot of reading on this as we are about to move. The system is a CNET editor's choice and although the hardware doesn't look pretty, it works. One reccomendation I have read consistently is to get the 2nd alarm speaker and mount it somewhere outside...The base station alarm is kind of a joke, but the 2nd alarm apparently will peel the skin off of your neighbors. We plan to get this system when we move to our new house at the end of July.

I'm also in the "not worth it" camp. I'm an insurance agent and our office probably has about 1500 homes insured(all across the city, anywhere from inner-city to suburbs to rural/unincorporated areas) and we have about 1 burglary claim a year on average. The odds are just incredibly, incredibly small in probably 99% of the United States. Now, if I lived somewhere like Gary, Indiana, or East St Louis, or Compton, CA, then yeah, I might seriously consider an alarm, but for the vast, vast majority of us I think they're a waste of money.

I am an insurance agent as well. I do not think they are worth it if you are trying to protect property. I did not pay for the monitoring in one of my old places even when the system was pre installed. A $1 sticker on the window is the most effective part anyway. If they steal a little or a lot my deductible is the same.

Crazily_sl said:

The same reason everyone else wants one...? I have a very nice home with lots of nice things and live in the 6th largest city in the nation...

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I live right off a major bikepath/road in the Boston area.
Have never heard of a breakin.
PS: Don't live in a shithole. (Phoenix if you arn't lying about the city)

That said, Palo Alto (absurd area) has a severe break-in issue due to being next to East Palo Alto (giant shithole whose claim to fame is an Ikea and being next to Palo Alto)

Fortress makes a cheap and simple (yet excellent) to setup system. You can find them on Amazon.

Amazon.com : Fortress Security Store (TM) S02-B Wireless Home Security Alarm System Kit with Auto Dial + Outdoor Siren : Camera Photo

As for the value, there are other things that make systems worth installing. Just the fact that any door or window opening will cause a chime I can be aware if my kid is fucking around with the window and maybe trying to crawl out to check out the cool looking whatever outside. Same with the door. Hell my friends 7 year old snuck out at 11pm one night after they all went to bed and knocked on the neighbors door to play with her friend. He installed one that same week after that.

Anything else is simply a bonus IMO but the main we reason we have always installed one is for when we are home not necessarily when we are away.

Not enough to matter but it can drop your rate a tiny bit.

Yeah we give a 10% discount if you have a monitored burglar and fire alarm. So you might save $100-$200 a year on your insurance, but the monitoring service is probably going to cost $400+ per year.

Alarm company salesmen love to overstate how much you will save on insurance.

It's probably true it isn't worth it but it really depends on the setup, features and such. I like the camera setup to be able to see the pets during the day from time to time. I also tend to travel in spurts for many days at a time, so it's just additional PoM. Mine also does all home automation, so really, I pay a pittance for the 'alarm' part, I just like being able to have stuff setup like, alert me if garage is open and I get .5 miles away, alert me if I'm 1+ miles away and alarm isn't on, change temperature when >5 miles away, turn down temp slightly when back within 5 miles etc. Also, I have a camera which records the exterior so if someone jacks my packages I have their face. None of it alone is superfantastic but for what I pay it's worth it all told.

Understandably you can do many of these things alone, but for what I got vs paying retail for all the wireless/home automation crap, I'm going to end up spending 1500 or so over 5 years for monitoring/alarm service. Woopdedoo? Certainly you can get yourself fucked, people tell me they pay stuff like 120 a month for 'concierge service' or bullshit, whatever that means or they pay 3K up front for erquipment and still pay 60+ a month lol.

I have an alarm system and my house was broken into a couple of months ago. The alarm went off and they ran off without stealing anything. Worth every penny for me.

I live in a nicer neighborhood, but there's some shitty low income housing walking distance from my house.

My home was pre-fitted with an AEP system and I have yet to actually turn it on :/

They seem like car alarms where more often than not they'll go off simply because of human error

I'd also have to guess that your car is about 100x more likely to get broken into than your home, if you leave your car parked outside in your driveway or the street.

Cars get broken into in my neighborhood all the time, but I have yet to hear of a burglary.

I'm baffled by the amount of people that have a nice 2-car garage and then park both of their vehicles in the driveway or street.

Every home in my neighborhood has a 2 car garage yet the street is still littered with cars. I also don't get it.

Tenks_sl said:

Every home in my neighborhood has a 2 car garage yet the street is still littered with cars. I also don't get it.

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Their garage is likely full of shit they don't use or need.

Kedwyn_sl said:

Their garage is likely full of shit they don't use or need.

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From seeing inside their garage this is the correct answer. I just don't understand keeping around all this shit clogging up your garage while your second most expensive item you own sits on the street.