The Facts About Home Burglaries in the United States

The one place a person should always feel safe and secure is in their own home. Unfortunately, too many people in the United States have that peace of mind taken away from them every single day. The FBI estimates that 1 out of every 36 homes in the United States are burglarized every year. That works out to be about one burglary every 15 seconds.

While we often envision burglars as being transient, professional criminals who prefer to work at night under the cover of darkness, the reality is actually quite different. Over 80% of all burglaries are committed by non-professional criminals and in many cases, they target homes that are within a few miles of their own home. In fact, 65% of all violent home burglaries in 2010 involved victims the burglar already knew. Most home burglaries also tend to occur between the hours of 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM, when people are more likely to be at work.

Although the holiday season surrounding Christmas is a popular time of year for burglars to strike, the summer months typically have the highest rates of burglaries.

Not only do home burglaries cost billions of dollars in property loss every year, the emotional effects can be even more profound. If you’re not used to locking your doors and windows before you leave the house, here are a few good reasons why you should start trying to get in the habit:

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Infographic Transcription:

Home Burglaries in the United States

States with the highest occurrences of burglaries (per 100,000 people):

• New Mexico
• Arkansas
• Louisiana
• Alabama
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Washington
• Nevada
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina

Burglary Facts:

• 30% - The percentage of burglaries in which the burglar entered through an unlocked door or window
• 28% - The percentage of burglaries that occurred where at least one household member was home
• $2,185 - The average dollar loss per burglary in the U.S.
• 10 minutes - The average amount of time a burglar stays in the home

Top Items Stolen in Home Burglaries:

• Bicycles
• Cell Phones
• Power Tools
• Laptops

Most Common Ways Burglars Break In:

• Front Door
• Windows
• Secondary Doors
• Garage

States With the Lowest Occurrences of Burglaries (per 100,00 people) :

• New York
• Virginia
• Wyoming
• Vermont
• South Dakota

Reference:

Safewise

United Locksmith

World Atlas

Home.bt.com

The Fitzpatrick Group

Protecting Your Belongings from UV Damage

As a homeowner, you’ll take a lot of steps to protect your home and your belongings. You do things like lock your doors before leaving, keep an eye out for signs that water might be getting in your home, keep batteries in your smoke detector, and make sure you get a great homeowner’s insurance policy. But one type of damage homeowners often forget to protect themselves against is damage caused by the sun.

Many people don’t think of sunlight being a potential source of home damage, but the sun’s UV rays can indeed cause a remarkable amount of damage to the things in your home. Unprotected window glass can let in as much as 70% of UV rays from the sun and it’s estimated that heat and visible light are responsible for causing approximately half of all indoor home damage.  

If you’ve ever been to a garage sale, flea market, antique shop, or a house full of older things, there’s a good chance you’ve seen something that looks remarkably faded. This happens when things are exposed to too much sunlight over time. Not only can colors fade, UV rays can also cause things to weaken and become brittle. Anything can become damaged if it’s exposed to too much sunlight over time, but pictures and other artwork hanging on walls, furniture, carpeting, and anything made of wood are all particularly susceptible to UV damage. Here’s how you can keep your belongings safe from the damaging effects of sunlight.

Window Treatments

Think of window treatments as being like sunscreen for the things in your home. Since windows let so much light into your home, they’re the best place to start when you want to limit how much UV radiation gets into your home. Many window treatments like curtains and blinds can be very effective at keeping the sun out, but they might not let in the ideal amount of light for you. Since most people don’t want to keep their curtains and blinds shut all day long, there are other options to consider that don’t aren’t as obstructive.

If you’ve been considering getting new windows, one of the best things you can do is get vinyl replacement windows with low-E glass. Low-E glass helps filter out a large portion of the sun’s UV rays without visibly limiting the amount of light a room gets. Windows with a low-E coating can also help keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer, so these windows are very beneficial to have.

If replacing your windows isn’t practical for you, a more affordable option to consider is  UV-filtering window films. These window films are very effective, inexpensive, can be cut to fit any window, and are easily found at many hardware stores.

Awnings

Your options for window treatments aren’t just limited to the kinds that go on the inside of your home. Exterior window awnings help shield your windows from the sun, controlling the amount of light that comes in. Not only do awnings help protect your belongings from damaging UV rays, they can help keep your heating and cooling costs down, too.

Picture Frames With UV-Filtering Glass

One of the most popular types of home decorations is photographs. Photographs are extremely vulnerable to UV damage, but when you have a collection of nice photos, you want to show them off, not hide them away in a dark room. To safely display your favorite photos, look for picture frames with UV-filtering plexiglass or acrylite instead of regular glass. You may not even have to completely replace your existing picture frames, you may be able to just replace the glass. Many stores that sell archival storage materials sell these UV-filtering glass alternatives as individual sheets, so you could simply replace the glass already in your picture frames with the new UV-filtering panes.

All About Attic Fans

Trying to find ways to cool your home without relying so much on an air conditioner can be a challenge. While there are lots of ways to help keep cool air inside your home, such as checking the weatherstripping and seals around your doors and vinyl replacement windows, sometimes you need a little more help. Planting trees in your yard is another great way to naturally cool your home, but it can take years for trees to fully mature and provide the most benefits. If you don’t already have an air conditioner or just want to use it less often, an option you may want to consider is an attic fan.

Types of Attic Fans

There are two main types of attic fans: whole-house fans and powered attic ventilators. If you’re considering an attic fan for your home, the type you’ll want to look for is a whole-house fan. Whole-house fans work by drawing cooler air from outside and pushing hot air out through vents in the attic. You can open the windows and let it run it at night to let cool air in, then turn it off and close your windows in the morning to enjoy a cooler house throughout the day. Unlike ordinary ceiling fans, which don’t actually lower a room’s temperature but make you feel more comfortable by improving air circulation, whole-house fans actually do work to lower the temperature in your home.

Powered attic ventilators, on the other hand, are generally considered a waste of money. Unless the floor in your attic just happens to be perfectly sealed and airtight, which very few are, a powered attic ventilator will draw cool air from your air conditioner into your attic, so you’re basically using more electricity for the sake of air conditioning your attic, which hasn’t been proven to be an effective way to make the rest of your home feel cooler. Meanwhile, warmer air will be drawn in from the outside through cracks and gaps elsewhere in your home, which will put more strain on your air conditioner and use more energy. Even if you don’t have an air conditioner, powered attic ventilators can cause moisture-related problems by drawing humid air into your home.

Benefits of a Whole-House Fan

Whole-house fans use much less electricity than a central air conditioner, so using one can help keep your home cool while keeping your electrical bills down at the same time. Not only can whole-house fans help save you money, they work to cool your home very quickly. They can lower the temperature in lower levels of a home by as much as 10 degrees sometimes in an hour or less.

Who Can Benefit from Whole-House Fans?

Whole-house attic fans are best for homes in areas that typically get cool at night or don’t already

have air conditioning. While attic fans can be very helpful in many homes, they’re not necessarily a good solution for everyone. Since you need to have windows open while you run a whole-house fan, they’re best for homes in areas that don’t get exceptionally humid. When you live in a very humid area, opening the window to run the attic fan will have the opposite of its intended effect and make your home feel warmer.

The fact that your windows have to be open to run a whole-house fan also means they’re not recommended for homes in neighborhoods with a high crime rate. You certainly don’t want to put your own personal safety and the safety of your family on the line for the sake of keeping your home cool.

If you suffer from allergies or live in an area that has high levels of pollution or dust in the air, an attic fan might not be right for you. As the attic fan works, it may bring allergens and other undesirable, airborne matter into your home. Depending on the type of allergies you have, you may not be able to run a whole-house fan at certain times of the year.

If you decide to get a whole-house fan, remember it’s extremely important to remember to open as many windows as possible when you run it. These fans, as well as powered attic ventilators, can depressurize a home and cause things like gas-powered water heaters and furnaces to backdraft and cause carbon monoxide to build up in the home. Having the windows open helps reduce that risk.

Smart Ways to Spend Money on Your Home

From the minute you decide to buy your first home, one thing you’ll inevitably be told a lot is that you’re making such an important investment. It’s true -- buying a home is one of the biggest and most important purchases a person makes during their lifetime. Ideally, over the time you own your home, you’ll be able to improve your home and help your investment grow.

Although making improvements to a home often helps add to its value, not all types of home improvements are necessarily wise investments. Some types of projects not only have a fairly low return on investment, they don’t even do much to add enjoyment to your home. The best projects you can take on are ones that will not only help add value to your home, but also help make a big long-term difference in some way. Those are the types of improvements that are perfect for any homeowner to take on, regardless if you’re getting ready to sell your home or plan to stay put for a while.

Energy Efficient Improvements

Anything that is going to help make your home more energy efficient is well worth spending money on. Whether it’s improving attic insulation, having vinyl replacement windows installed, or getting new Energy Star appliances, these are the sorts of things that will help save you money in the long run by reducing your energy bills. Not only will you have lower energy bills, projects like replacing your windows and adding more insulation will help make your home a more comfortable place to be.

Trees

In terms of home value, landscaping can be a difficult area. Potential buyers like to see homes with a yard that looks neat and well cared for, but landscaping doesn’t always add value and overly elaborate landscaping can be a turnoff to people who don’t want to deal with that kind of maintenance. Trees, however, are one part of landscaping that definitely can give your property value an extra boost. Mature trees can add between $1,000 and $10,000 to a home’s value.

When properly placed, mature trees can also help significantly reduce your energy bills, often by over $100 per year, since they provide shade so you won’t have to rely so much on your air conditioner. Trees can also help shield your home from cold winds in the winter, making it easier for your home to stay warmer in the winter.

Kitchens and Bathroom Improvements

Since everyone spends time in kitchens and bathrooms, it makes sense that making upgrades to these rooms would typically have a great return on investment. Even if you aren’t planning to sell your home, improvements in these rooms can do a lot to make your home more enjoyable. Best of all, you don’t necessarily even have to make huge changes to see a big difference. Even making fairly small, simple changes can have a big impact.

New Front Door

You might not think about it very often, but your front door is a hugely important part of your home. It plays a central role in your home’s exterior appearance, helps protect you from the elements, and keeps your home secure. If it’s been a long time since you’ve replaced your home’s exterior doors, particularly your front door, looking into getting a new steel door would be a great idea. Older doors often aren’t as energy efficient as newer ones, so you might be losing a lot of money on energy bills that are higher than they need to be. A new front door will give your home’s curb appeal an added boost and can even help make your home more secure.

Tips for Washing Second Story Windows

Washing windows is a chore many people have a hard time with. Many homeowners struggle to get the panes of their vinyl replacement windows looking crystal clear and streak free, even when the windows are easy to reach. Trying to wash the windows on the second story of a home from the outside is even more challenging. If you’re lucky, you might have windows that tilt inward or can easily be removed from the frame, making it no problem to clean those windows without having to get the ladder out. But if you aren’t able to wash your windows in those ways, here are a few ways to make your job a little bit easier.

First of all, don’t just choose any day to wash your windows from the outside, particularly second-story windows. Try to choose a day that’s either cloudy or overcast. When you try washing windows on a sunny day, the heat from the sun can cause your cleaning solution to dry before you have a chance to properly rinse and dry them, which can create streaks on the window. When you’re dealing with second-story windows, the last thing you want is to go through all that effort and not end up with the results you want.

Before you try to start washing your windows from the outside, clean your windows from the inside first. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which side of the pane of glass a spot is on so it’s best to start by washing the side of the window that’s easiest to clean. That way, if you encounter any stubborn spots or streaks when you try washing the window from the outside, you’ll know which side it’s on.

Since the exterior side of your windows are obviously going to be exposed to a lot of dirt, grime, and cobwebs, getting rid of these things first will help make your job much easier. Trying to wash your windows without doing this can cause the dirt to just get smeared around your window, creating more work for you. All you have to do is take a broom or soft brush and use it to brush off any loose dirt and debris that may be stuck to your window.

Now that you’ve done all your prep work, it’s time to really start washing those windows. Since you’re dealing with second-story windows, of course, you’ll need to be able to reach them. Climbing on ladders can be dangerous if not done properly, so if it’s possible for you to reach your windows using things like an extension wand for your squeegee, that’s definitely the safest option. There are also window cleaning solutions available that can be attached to your garden hose, so that’s another way to reach those higher windows without using a ladder.

If using a ladder is absolutely necessary, be very careful to use it safely. Make sure the ladder is placed on solid, level ground. If your ladder is still just a little bit too short, never try to place it on anything like cinder blocks or boxes to get the extra height you need. Before you get on the ladder, check to make sure the locks on the ladder are secured. Also, don’t try doing this chore alone. Make sure you have someone to help you with things like holding the ladder steady and handing you supplies as you need them.