Protecting Your Seasonal Property…Beyond Just Security

With summer in full swing, most of us dream of weekends at the cottage — taking time away from the hustle of the city to frolic in nature with family and friends. There’s nothing better than turning down your cottage road, knowing that rest and relaxation await you.

But there’s also nothing worse than arriving at your seasonal property ready to unwind, only to find that something has happened when you weren’t there. All of the sudden, you are dealing with police, insurance companies and clean up crews rather than boating, badminton and barbeques.

Seasonal properties are especially vulnerable because of their isolated locations and infrequent habitation. Intruders can watch your property and learn your visiting patterns. They can then choose an optimum time to break in when you and your neighbours are not around. And because most seasonal properties are located in the country, environmental hazards including weather, extreme cold, animals and fire can cause expensive damage and inconvenience.

So what can you do to protect your property? With ongoing monitoring, you can be both proactive and reactive because you’ll know about scheduled and unscheduled activity at your property. Often times, you will plan service appointments with your caretaker, landscaper, contractor or cleaning person when you aren’t there. Using a monitoring solution, you’ll know if those activities take place on the right date, at the right time. With this knowledge, you can maintain control of your property’s maintenance without having to be physically present.

But you’ll also be informed if your property is in jeopardy. The second something happens, whether it’s a break in, a burst pipe, a fire or storm damage, you’ll know right away. Combining security with environmental hazard protection enables you to reduce the possibility of serious damage to your property and the expense and hassle that come with it.

Most monitoring solutions, such as Home Monitoring from Bell, also allow you to designate several contacts that can be alerted in case of an emergency at your property. The obvious choices are you and close family members. But because your seasonal property is probably located a fair distance from your main residence, you can also select local contacts including neighbours or your caretaker. That way, you have someone close by who can be at your property quickly to take control of the situation while you are in transit. Especially in the case of fire, flooding or weather damage, it is advantageous to have a first responder on site as quickly as possible.

So as you plan your cottage season this year, you may want to reconsider how you are protecting your property. With ongoing monitoring, you’ll always know what’s going on, even when you aren’t there. Taking action to deal with situations as they occur will go a long way in ensuring that when you do arrive, you only have to worry about rest and relaxation.

Did you know? Home Monitoring from Bell is a new home security and safety service. It is completely wireless and can be self-installed. The system alerts you in real time by phone, email or text message to break-ins, power outages and potential water or fire damage. Video monitoring can be added for additional security. For more information, please call 1 866 921-6815 or click here.