How to leave my house/car safe when going home to the USA

Hello,

My hubby and I are going home to the US for a month or more this summer --- any tips on how to leave the house/car safe while we're gone ?
We live in the city in a terrace house with street parking.

Should I let my letting agent know, or the local police ? Leave the car at the airport?

I don't feel comfortable telling the acquaintances on my street because they might just tell the wrong person, you know?

Thanks in advance!

Check your lease to see if there is a stipulation that you must inform the agent know that you will be away for a lengthy period of time. My lease has a cause like that.

Do you have any friends or family that you trust who could stop in occasionally and ensure the house is not looking vacant? Unwanted take away menus and newspapers can easily pile up. Same with post or any unexpected parcels.

The car's movement or absence is an indicator if the owner is around so just keep that in mind. Same with lighting in the house. You may wish to get a timer.

Check your renter's insurance and secure any valuables and documents for ease of mind.

Thanks for the advice!

DH is a maniac about not leaving anything "tempting" on view from a window. So hide everything you can and put up net curtains or something to obscure the view on the ground floor. Get security locks put on the windows. Trim back any bushes around the door/windows. Have a couple of lamps on timer switches (staggered) and also a radio. Having a friend or neighbour to check every day or two is advisable; sometimes post gets left sticking out the slot. Some people have fake security alarms put up to deter burglars.
(This may sound extreme but we've been burgled several times -- not to frighten anyone -- but it does happen)

Great tips!

BostonDiner's tips are great, so definitely follow those.

Make sure your mail is not being put through a mail slot that a burglar could look through and see that your mail is piling up. That's how my flat was robbed. I lived in a tenament in Edinburgh, and I remember sitting at home during the day and hearing my mail slot being opened randomly, but nothing coming through it. I thought it was odd, and once we were robbed, I realised why they were doing it - piled up mail is a sign you're away. The Post Office can hold it for you, and you can pick it up from a sorting office when you return. My in-laws were robbed through their mail slot when they were home, so don't leave anything valuable anywhere near a mail slot ever. Apparently, the burglars used a pole with a hook on it to get their keys off the table next to the door, and stole their car that way. Luckily, they didn't use the house key to break in, but they easily could have.

Even if you're only renting, make sure you have a good lock and your door can't be kicked in easily. It's worth it to pay out of your own pocket for a good lock. We didn't have one, unfortunately, and came home to a kicked in door. Our letting agent replaced it, and within a month of us moving out, the flat was robbed AGAIN, so don't trust that what they claim is a good lock is going to keep a burglar out.

Also, hide your valuable items REALLY well. Don't just put a laptop under a pillow on your bed or jewellery in a drawer under clothes (I made those mistakes). Think of the most hidden place possible, and put things there. Hiding jewellery in the kitchen cupboards in a cereal box is better than in a sock drawer, because bedroom drawers are the first place they look. The people who robbed me dumped out all of my drawers onto my bed, but they didn't even go into the kitchen. Something else that is a strange tip, but does work... if you have a cable cord on your TV (the kind that screws in), tighten it as tightly as possible, to the point where it would be impossible to get it off without a wrench or pliers. Not being able to just quickly rip out the TV cables and running off keeps a robber from just grabbing your TV. Anything that takes effort to steal, they'll leave.

I hope that helps.

Whoa, thanks for sharing your experience, so sorry that happened. I definitely will be taking those precautions, thank you.

You could do what i do.. leave my car at the airport. As far as my flat its taken care of by my lovely but very observant(okay nosey lol ) elderly neighbour lol.. Probably helps that im rarely gone longer than a fortnight and my  trusted next door neighbour comes and feeds my moggies and picks up the mail from the front door mail slot for me ..So usually all set when i travel.

We had friends come every day to feed the cat and check the post was picked up -- but still had a burglary. I didn't care about them making off with the telly and video and stuff like that but it was the loss of family keepsakes that really upset me. And they even stole the push chair -- presumably to make off with the telly. So do find good hiding places for the things you really care about.

Another time DH was in bed upstairs and they jimmied open a ground floor window and stole more stuff. The police said he did the right thing not to approach them. They also advised that we screw the downstairs sash windows together! This worries me in case of fire but I guess it does help keep the buggers out.