Home Security Assessment

Burglary isn't random. It follows patterns, and understanding those patterns helps prioritize your security investments.

Austin residential burglaries peak during daytime hours - roughly 10am to 3pm when many homes are empty. The stereotype of the nighttime break-in is wrong; most burglars prefer working when nobody's home. This means your weekday security posture matters more than your midnight deadbolts.

Entry points follow predictable preferences. Front doors get attacked more often than you'd expect - burglars kick them in because it's fast, and surprisingly few people are watching in residential neighborhoods during the day. Back doors and side doors come next, especially if they're concealed from neighbor views. Ground-floor windows in hidden locations. Garage entry doors (often the weakest door in the house).

Different Austin neighborhoods have different risk profiles. Older central neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Bouldin Creek have more property crime but also more witnesses and shorter police response times. Suburban areas may have less crime overall but longer response times. We factor your specific neighborhood into our recommendations.

Most burglars are opportunistic. They're not planning elaborate heists - they're looking for easy targets. A home that looks harder to break into than the neighbors' homes usually gets passed over. Your goal isn't perfection; it's being less attractive than other options.

After the walkthrough, you receive a written report detailing findings and recommendations. We prioritize these into tiers: immediate concerns (things that need fixing now), important improvements (significant security upgrades), and nice-to-have enhancements (additional layers of protection).

Each recommendation includes explanation. We don't just say 'upgrade your deadbolt' - we explain why your current deadbolt is vulnerable, what a better option would be, and what that upgrade would cost. You understand the reasoning, not just the conclusion.

Budget reality shapes our recommendations. We could tell everyone to install high-security locks on every door, add window sensors, and upgrade to smart locks with cameras. But that's not helpful if your budget is $500. We tailor recommendations to what makes the most impact within your means. Sometimes that means prioritizing the front and back door and accepting that the basement window stays as-is for now.

No-obligation means no pressure. We're not going to hard-sell you on services during the assessment. You get the report, you decide what to do, you call us if you want to proceed with any upgrades. Many homeowners implement recommendations over time as budget allows.

After thousands of assessments, we see the same issues repeatedly. Knowing what's commonly wrong helps you understand what we'll probably find at your home.

Strike plates with short screws are nearly universal. Builders install strike plates with 3/4-inch screws that grip only the door jamb - a solid kick splits that soft wood easily. Replacing them with 3-inch screws that anchor into the wall stud costs $10 in parts and takes 5 minutes but dramatically improves kick-in resistance.

Hollow-core doors in older Austin homes are common on side entries and interior rooms. These doors provide almost no security - they can be punched through. If your garage entry or side door is hollow-core, it needs replacement regardless of what lock is on it.

Sliding glass doors with stock locks are vulnerable. The standard latches on sliding doors can be defeated with a screwdriver. A security bar or Charlie bar in the track prevents the door from being forced open. Better yet, upgrade the lock to a double-bolt system.

Garage door security gets overlooked. Many Austin garages have entry doors into the house that are weaker than exterior doors - hollow-core, with basic knob locks. If someone gets into your garage (easy with code grabbers or the emergency release string), they have unlimited time to work on that interior door. It should be solid-core with a deadbolt.