HOME SECURITY SYSTEMS

Posted by Tom Martino at 12:53 pm 67 Comments Print

When it comes to buying home security systems people make all kinds of mistakes!  That’s because most people don’t know the basics in home security, so they don’t know a good or bad deal when they see one.

Here are some basics that I have gathered over the years that will give you good info for shopping.

• When buying a security system you are buying two things:  Equipment and Monitoring.
• There is NO such thing as “free equipment”.  If they offer you “free” equipment … they will make up for it in their monthly fee.
• Residential monitoring should run around $25 to $35 a month.  Sometimes it will be a little more for monitoring water sensors.
• If monitoring fees are “out of line”, ask why.
• You should never lease equipment – it ties you to a specific company and does not leave you flexible if you move.  If you move you either have to get the new resident to take over the contract, take the system with you or pay a penalty for termination.
• It is best to buy equipment outright – use a credit card if necessary. Then you own it and will not be tied to any one company.  So you can shop for the best monitoring if your current company seems unreasonable.
• Make sure the purchased equipment is not proprietary.  You need open source equipment that can work with any system.  Proprietary equipment ties you to a specific system and/or company.
• I highly recommend you stay away from the door-to-door solicitors for home security. Most of the problems I hear about stat with those kinds of companies.  They are high pressure sales and offer free equipment …

AND AS I SAID … THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE EQUIPMENT!

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