With the holidays approaching, many families will depart for vacations and trips. This can be an opportunistic time for burglars to take advantage of the empty homes in your neighborhood. At Wise Property Management, we know how important it is for a Tampa HOA management company to bring this to their resident’s attention, and assist them in taking the steps to keep their homes safe. It’s beneficial for HOA management companies to post flyers about vacation safety, or even hold a seminar a few times a year reminding HOA residents about these important safety tips.
As an HOA management company in Tampa, here are a few tips.
FORM A NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH GROUP
Forming a neighborhood watch group can be very beneficial for your neighborhood. Work with your local police liaison to assist you in forming the watch group. If the neighborhood watch group is made aware of a family being gone for a few days, they can pay extra attention to that property and keep an eye out until they return. Posting signs about the neighborhood watch group can also help to deter a burglar.
ENCOURAGE RESIDENTS TO HOLD MAIL AT THE POST OFFICE
If a family is planning a holiday vacation, encourage them to have their mail held at the post office while they’re gone. Additionally, urge residents to have their newspapers held as well. A pile of newspapers in a driveway is a dead giveaway that nobody is home. Homeowners can call the newspaper company or post office to have everything held, or ask a neighbor to pick everything up while they are away.
DON’T POST ABOUT BEING GONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
It’s important for homeowners and families to avoid posting on social media that they are out of town. Photos and locations of wherever a homeowner is should be avoided while their home is empty. Posting pictures in a different country and tagging a location, is a big red flag that someone is not home, and won’t be for some time.
OFFER A LAWN MOWING SERVICE
Homeowners should arrange to have their lawn mowed at least once while they are away. They can call a mowing company, or arrange for a neighbor to help them out, but another option is setting up a lawn mowing service within the community.
Call Wise Property Management today at (813) 968-5665 to find out how we can help with your property management needs or request a proposal.