Tips to Avoid an Apartment Burglary

The Art of Keeping a Low Profile in Your Apartment 

Burglary is a significant problem in apartment complexes across the country. However, you can significantly reduce your chances of being burgled through these simple common sense measures.

If you live in an apartment, you work hard for what you have and you make compromises in order to live among other people. You can prepare for a home invasion by using a Master Lock 265DCCSEN Dual-Function Security Bar and a quality handgun like the Smith & Wesson Enhanced Sigma. But, burglary also seems to be a serious risk in apartment complexes. Fortunately, there are simple things that you can do to reduce the chances that your apartment could be burglarized. The keys to avoiding an apartment burglary are discretion and deception.


1. Be Discreet with Your Treasures.  If you don't want to be a target, keep a low profile. Don't flash your cash or your prized consumer goods. Don't let your flat screen TV or expensive stereo be visible from outside of your apartment. Can someone on the sidewalk in front of your building see your TV, stereo, or computer? If you don't want something stolen, don't let people see it. In an apartment, that means you should keep your blinds and curtains shut so that passersby can't see what you own. Any small valuables should be hidden away. Any stereo systems, video game consoles or other consumer electronics should be kept behind the closed doors of an armoire or wooden cabinet. Store valuables discreetly so that they won't be immediately seen by the cable guy, the maintenance men, the pest control person, and other workers who may come into your apartment.

2. Don't Divulge Your Plans.  If you want to minimize the chance that your apartment will be burgled, you need to remember the old World War II adage: loose lips sink ships. If you are planning a week out of town, don't tell random people. Only those with a real need to know should have knowledge of your impending departure and travel plans. In particular, you don't want people to know that you will be out of town for holidays or other major events.

3. Stop Mail / Package / Newspaper Deliveries.  When you do leave town, do everything you can to stop your mail deliveries, stop your package shipments, and hold any newspapers. If you do have a trusted neighbor that you know well, you might have them pick up any packages that appear on your doormat and snatch any pizza flyers or Chinese menus that get thrust into your door. Bulging mailboxes, packages and menus can mark your apartment for burglars and let them know it is unattended. If you live in an apartment, you may just want to get your mail at a nearby UPS store.

4. Park Your Car in Varying Locations. If you park your car in the same space at the same times everyday, people will get to know your habits. If you park on different sides of your apartment building and in different spaces, your habits will be less obvious to potential burglars.

5. Use Varying Exits. Just as you move your car around, you should also vary the exit you use when you leave your apartment building. When you leave from different exits, it becomes harder for burglars watching your building to predict your schedule or plan a burglary.

6. Leave For Trips By the Less Visible Exit.  Sometimes activity in front of an apartment building happens in a fishbowl. Everyone in a building can see what is going on. If you can exit for a trip through a less visible exit and pack your car discreetly, your movements are less likely to be observed. It may be worth moving your car to a temporary space near the building just for loading and unloading.

7. Leave Carrying Non-Luggage.  If you don't want potential burglars to know that you are leaving for an extended period of time, try to leave without luggage. Put your luggage in a large black trash bag or in a box marked "Salvation Army." The key is to disguise your luggage as trash, charitable donations, or anything else. You might also take one bag at a time over a period of time. If you bring one bag of clothes out in the evening before you leave, then you can leave with a smaller bag of your valuables.

8. Appliance Timers.  Appliance timers are perhaps the most important tool in reducing the chance that your apartment will be burglarized. With appliance timers, the lights in your apartment will continue to turn on and turnoff in accordance with your regular routine. You can even use appliance timers to turn radios and televisions on and off. If the lights are on and potential burglars can hear noise when listening to your door, they are likely to move on to an apartment that they know is unoccupied. Appliance timers are available for $5 to $10 apiece. You simply have to test them for reliability before you use them.

There are lots of simple things you can do to make your home safe and secure. If you incorporate these simple steps to keep a low profile and mislead potential burglars by making your apartment look occupied, you'll have done your part to reduce crime in your apartment complex.

How to Escalate Issues at Your Apartment Complex

Sometimes issues at an apartment complex can go unresolved for a long time.  You complain about something and management refuses to do anything to rectify the issue.

Typically, when I have an issue, I will complain to management and give them a week to work on the problem.  If the problem is in a common area, I'll talk to neighbors about it and see if they will complain as well.

If there is still no resolution, I go to the rental company website and escalate the issue to the next level of management.  This can be done iteratively.

My last and final level of escalation would be to leave a review on apartmentratings.com.  When it comes to problems at an apartment complex, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  You have to make complaints to get anything fixed.  If there is a problem at your complex get heard and get it fixed.

Furniture Tips for Apartments

When you first move into an apartment, people will try to help you furnish it. Parents will donate their old furniture and furniture stores will extend apparently easy credit terms. 

Many young people have the notion that their apartment is their first "real" place.  Consequently, renters often rush to fill their apartment with substantial looking furniture.

It's all a trap.

When you are young, you have the freedom to move in pursuit of your dreams.  But, moving an apartment full of expensive or heavy furniture is not cheap.    Once you have heavy furniture, you need to pay professional movers who know how to take care of things.  You start needing to rent an expensive truck every time you move.

If you live in an apartment stay light and stay cheap.  Don't get bigged down by heavy stuff.

Apartment Complex Critters: The Red-Shouldered Hawk

One of the coolest things about living in an apartment is having grounds.  Our complex has an extensive stretch of woods with a creek running through the complex.  The woods is home to critters like possums, rabbits, and raccoons.  But, the fences seem to keep out predators like coyotes.  Earlier this week, we had an airborne predator visit the woods just behind our balcony.  I believe it is a Red-Shouldered Hawk.

Red-Shouldered Hawk near Atlanta, Georgia

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the Red Shoulder Hawk differs from the the Red-Tailed Hawk in having a peach-colored underside instead of white.  The Red-Shouldered Hawk is also notable for liking forest land and river-areas.  Since we live near the Chattahoochee River and wildlife area, we have both in abundance.  This guy flies through the trees behind our building and preys on squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and rats.  Very cool to see!

Controlling Pests in an Apartment

Pest control in an apartment can be a real challenge.  You are at the mercy of factors beyond your control.  

For example, you don't control the construction quality of your building. If the builder left gaps that bugs can get through, your options are limited. 

You also don't have any control over the behavior of your neighbors.  If they leave doors open without screens, bugs can crawl or fly right in.  If they have poor hygiene and kitchen cleaning habits, bugs will be there to take advantage of the situation.

By Amada44 (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Fortunately, there are a few things that ypu can control:

First, you can make your own environment less attractive to bugs by keeping your kitchen clean and sanitary.  Every night you should make sure that the dishes are washed, food is put away, and counters are clean and wiped down.

Second, you can keep doors and windows closed.  If you plan to open windows, you can make sure that they fit properly and are in good repair.

Third, you can have pest control visit your apartment on a regular basis.  In some states, the law requires landlords to provide pest control.  It's good to be home when pest control comes so that ypu can discuss pests you've seen and problem areas.

Fourth, you can supplement pest control with your own efforts.  You can sprinkle diatomaceous earth in locations that people and pets do not access. For example, you can sprinkle the white powder behind the refrigerator.  You can also use roach and ant traps or even spray yourself.

Defensive Driving within Your Complex

In the past year, we've had about six  significant traffic accidents on the grounds of our apartment complex.  As a casual observer, it's difficult to identify the root cause of each accident.  However, I suspect there are a few contributors to each accident.

1.  Foreign National Drivers.
2.  Young Drivers.
3.  Wet Roads.
4.  Distraction.

Three accidents took out trees and shrubs, one accident left a bumper and broken glass just inside the gate, and one spectacular accident took out a guard rail, sent a car airborne, and significant damaged a parked SUV.  These accidents are scary because we have many pedestrians within our complex.  Someone may get hurt.

While speed limits are low, you have to drive defensively in an apartment complex.  Since the entire complex is basically a parking lot with a twisting road through it, there are plenty of people trying to get in an out of spaces.  You also have children and pets darring from between parked cars.

In our complex, we also have a large number of foreign guest workers who walk for recreation.  They are completely clueless of how pedestrians act in the United States.  Suffice it too say there is a whole family and a baby stroller behind every blind corner.  If you add in all the joggers with iTunes impaired hearing, you have a disaster waiting for someone to roar around a corner too fast.  Slow down and don't even think about toiching your cell phone while driving here!

It's enough to make me want speed bumps!

Common Courtesy in Apartments

I am always amazed at the complete lack of common courtesy people display in an apartment complex.  

For example, one tenant kept a broken down motorcycle in a prime space in front of our building for many years.  When she moved out, she blocked three spaces with a portable shipping container.

Still other tenants move in or out of a complex at night.  There's nothing like a hand truck full of boxes bouncing down a flight of stairs at midnight to promote a good night of sleep.

Still other people just leave cups and litter from their car out on the street. Believe it or not, the grounds keeper has other duties to perform.  In a community, you just don't do things like that.  Civilization depends on people to act civilized.  It's that simple.

Using The Apartment Complex Amenities

There has long been an adage in sales that you sell the sizzle not the steak.  Apartment complexes sell us with amazing club house facilities, gyms, pools, and tennis courts. Unfortunately, we seldom use any of those amenities.

One way to get the most for your money when renting an apartment is to use every available amenity to the maximum extent possible.  Most people pay $30 to $200 per month for a health club membership and you have all the equipment available for free.

Go to the pool while you still have some summer left!

Apartment Complex Critters - The Worm Snake

Yesterday I rescued a snake in our apartment complex.  I believe he was a worm snake.  He was a chubby little black fellow about five inches long.  He had a teeny-tiny head and seemed to be blind.  Naturally, he lurks under the pine straw mulch used in our flower beds where he eats tiny bugs.  However, he fell out of the safety of the shrubbery and onto the concrete gutter.  He was not big enough to make it up over the curb so he opted to hide under a leaf.  I scooped him up with an envelope and put him back in the pine straw.  He promptly disappeared.
The little fellow was a reminder that all sorts of creatures live in our complex.

This one in the hands of a Virginia park ranger looks very similar to the worm snakes we have in Georgia.

Worm Snake in Virginia - Photo By vastateparksstaff [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Beware of Door Dingers

Many people in this world are unable to park a car properly.  They leave their car parked in a space at an angle or with a wheel across the line separating spaces.  With little room between their car and the car parked next to them, they often end up dinging the doors of neighboring cars.

How do you combat these door dingers?  The best you can do is to try and identify who the door dingers are and then park away from them.  Some folks with fancy cars in our complex park far away from the building in seldom-used spaces.  Another tactic is to park in the last space in the lot so that only one side of your car is exposed to a neighbor's car.  Typically, you park right up against shrubbery or a handicapped spot.

Ultimately there isn't much you can do.  Once we buy a house, we'll have to take our long suffering cars to Maaco!

Maintaining Your Apartment Building

As a tenant, I'm always dismayed when a property management company doesn't take proper care of an apartment complex.  But, the folks in the rental office can be very clueless about issues on a property.  If you think about it, it makes sense.  The leasing consultants and complex manager aren't out and about on the property after dark or when it rains.  They won't notice a plugged gutter or bugs in a hallway or a streetlight that is out.  But, as a tenant, you do notice.  When you see something, you need to say something.  No one else will.

Over the years, I've reported holes in a building, siding falling from an eave, evidence of a burglary, bugs in hallways, and terrible leaks at the carwash.  My wife has often called in about street lights that were out or that were flashing intermittently.  Hearing all that, you'd think we live in a ghetto.  But, we don't.  We live in one of the nicer apartment complexes in our area.  Of course, it's only a nice complex because people do call about problems.  So, if you see a serious issue on the grounds of your apartment complex, call it in!

How to Check Out a New Apartment Complex Before You Sign a Lease

Are you moving to a new apartment? Finding a good one can be a challenge. Over the years, my wife and I have packed up and moved many times. We've learned a few things about investigating new apartment communities. Here are some tips to help you thoroughly scope out an apartment complex before you sign a lease:

1. Apartment Ratings. The best way to learn about an apartment complex is by talking to tenants. The next best thing is to read reviews posted online by tenants. Apartmentratings.com has lots of anonymous reviews for complexes all over the United States. However, beware of positive reviews that are written by people working in the rental office. Pay attention to well-written negative reviews that mention bugs, plumbing problems or rats.


 
2. Craigslist. The rants and raves section of Craigslist is a place for locals to air their gripes about things in their communities. If you ask about a well-known complex on Craigslist, you might get some very candid answers. While some responses may be completely fictional fabrications by Internet trolls and others may be politically incorrect rants, there may be a kernel of truth in some of the feedback your get about apartment complexes.

3. Online Discussion Forums. You can ask about well known apartment complexes in online discussion forums like CityProfile.com or City-Data.com. A few good questions about crime, safety, fire protection, schools, and neighborhoods can yield a lot of valuable information. You can learn a great deal about neighborhoods and apartment complexes.

4. Personal Tour. If you live near your prospective new complex, take an in personal tour of the apartment complex. You can examine the fixtures and ask questions from the rental office staff. Tour the actual apartment that you'll live in so that you can ensure that it is up to your standards.


5. Spotcrime. Google's maps and "street view" photos make it easy to see what your apartment complex looks like. But, if you really want to know what's going on, search for your area on Spotcrime.com. The Spot Crime website will provide a detailed street-level map with all the crime incidents in a specified area and time frame.
Moving is always a leap of faith. These tips should make moving a little less scary and increase the odds of your moving to a great community.

[By L Spain.  This post was originally published on Yahoo Voices on July 21, 2012.] 

Apartment Landscaping: Cut Those Plants Back

Yesterday my wife saw a woman taking some bulky items to her car.  The lady ran into a sprawling cactus plant that was spilling out into the sidewalk.  She was annoyed.  But, it points out one important thing about landscaping in an apartment complex.  The plants should not be taking over the world.  They should not be spilling out over sidewalks and rendering benches unusable.  

 

Plants and landscaping are a wonderful benefit to living in an apartment.  But, sometimes the gardeners need to cut them back!

Apartment Security: The Gate Must Work

There is a beautiful apartment complex just a little ways down our road.  While the buildings are a little older, it has immaculate landscaping and generous dog walking areas.  The complex even has a lake with turtles, herons, and geese.  The pool even has a waterfall.  There is only one problem: the front gate doesn't work.  It is always open and anyone can drive right on in to the complex.  In a big city, a non-functional gate is a big turn off.

Slow Down When Driving in An Apartment Complex

The demographics of American apartment complexes are changing.  Many complexes host large communities of guest workers from India.  These workers are not familiar with American customs regarding cars and pedestrians.  They also tend to walk around a lot in an apartment complex.

Delhi Traffic By David Bleasdale from England [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0) or CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Foreign guest workers may not walk against traffic.  They also may not avoid blind corners.  They also tend not to use the available sidewalks.  Since they are often working from home with offshore personnel in India, they may be up and walking about much later than typical Americans.  Since they may not have a car or they may rely on friends for transportation, they tend to walk to work and to stores.

On many occasions, I have rounded a blind corner to find an extended family of immigrants or guest workers complete with grandfather, grandmother, mom, dad, and baby in stroller.  Needless to say, if you are driving in an apartment complex, watch your speed and be prepared for the unexpected.

Advantages of Renting: No Paving Bricks for Me

One of my co-workers is a home owner.  Every weekend, he works on his yard.  A typical weekend consists of moving tons of 30-pound paving stones around for one of his two weekend days.  He takes pride in his yard and gets a lot of enjoyment out of it.  But, secretly, I'm glad I don't have to do any yard work.  There aren't many advantages to living in an apartment, but avoiding yard work has to be one of the greatest.


I also appreciate the fact that I don't have to come up with $3000 at some random time if an air conditioner or furnace breaks.  There that is two advantages for renting!

How to Blow Out the Breezeways

If you live in an apartment the south, odds are pretty good that you live in a garden-style apartment with open air breezeways.  These breezeways let air circulate and don't have to be air conditioned.  However, they do have to be swept out by the maintenance staff on a regular basis.  Most apartment complex groundskeeping crews use leaf blowers for the job.

Unfortunately, some groundskeeping people shirk their responsibilities.  If you are on a Groundskeeping crew, blowing out the hallways is your chance to go to war against bugs, moths, spiders, cobwebs, and leaves.  

Suit up, crank that blower up full blast and go after them.  You've got to get the floor and blow out the dirt and leaves.  Then, you've got to blow out the walls and the ceilings and the stair barristers.  You've got to get all the spiders, all the spider webs, and all the spider eggs.  The whole complex is counting on you!