Someone tried to break into our house...

[wsu12]

..the weekend before we moved in. The house was vacant. They didn''t get in, judging by the damage that was on the door (has been repaired) they didn''t get very far. My neighbor told me the story, his dogs heard noise and he got up to check it out and came outside and scared this person(s) off.

I spoke briefly to the neighbor about this thinking that perhaps it was a homeless person looking for a place to sleep (our house is new construction, not all the blinds were up at the time--they could see it was vacant). He said "No". Unfortunately, I didn''t get much time to ask him a lot of questions about the incident.

I have not had a good night sleep since I heard this (two weeks ago). Am I being unreasonable? I can''t get it out of my head that they might try again...What do you think?

BTW-We just moved half way across the country to a new city and state. I live in a good part of town (so I''ve been told).

 

[reader]

The economy is causing all sorts of thefts, and I think this individual might have been looking for copper pipes and wires to salvage. That is why a new construction would be targeted.

Big hugs.

 

[beechezz]

If it would make you feel more comfortable, have an alarm system installed. I agree with Reader that they were probably looking for the copper....it is worth big bucks.

 

[jewelz617]

Ditto to both comments. A man got arrested last week at my husband''s work site for stealing copper pipes from outside the building.

 

[waterlilly]

I wouldn''t lose too much sleep over it, I think the type of person that breaks into a house under construction and the people that break into a lived in house are two very different creatures.

Like others said, he was likely looking to steal pipe, wire, or tools.

 

[CasaBlanca]

Adding my agreement with the others. I live near brand new construction, keep late hours and I have been christened by the Police Department as Barney Fife. They won''t allow me to carry a gun, or even A bullet my weapon is the phone.

One house all the appliances have been removed TWICE. I must have dozed off on that one. Light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, door knobs, even toilets! The MO is one guy gets in starts the disconnecting of what they are after...he calls the buds a little later and they cart it off or bring in a vehicle if the gates are open. They have even brazenly returned with huge vans in the light of day. Who thinks worker trucks would be thieves?

One thing I can say, the copper pipe thieves have more than likely come and gone already. If you house already has cabinetry and such, they were after the bigger stuff that is easier to obtain that came after the plumbing guts...garage door opener or cook top, micro, disposals, etc. 9 times out of 10 it is a guy from a work crew that worked on the house. They leave a window open and slip right in. Maybe your fumbling door intruder got the info wrong on which window!

Seems odd to say now that your home is filled with valuable things...this guy isn''t interested. It is the building materials installed that they have a market for. Not home stereo or computers...etc. Getting an appliance out now that you have furnishings is just too difficult.

You should feel safe in your new home, where this one guy is concerned...people and occupants are deterrents to his MO. He isn''t coming back honey...there are too many other vacant homes he is targeting. Enjoy your new home! Don''t let this POOP steal your comfort!

Welcome to your new home!



PS. Get familiar with your neighbors dog''s bark. It will take a while to stop being annoyed with the noise. But once you do, you can learn what barks are people...and which barks are other animal warnings. Dogs get a whiff of a bad guy way way before we get to see them. It is all so new and scary to you...I know. You will soon find your comfort zone.

 

[wsu12]

Honestly, just reading this makes me feel a million times better. Thanks so much, I wasn''t aware of the market for building materials. Thanks again!

 

[karee888]

fsu -- sorry to hijack your thread, but since there are no pms, i can''t contact you....just curious about your wedding bands. they are amazing and very similar to what i was thinking about. may i ask where you got them? and if you can recall, some specs on the bands? thanks so much

 

[charbie]

Fsu; sorry to have to deal with this! I''ve had first hand experience getting my home robbed in broad daylight...and we lived there...so everything was stolen. Worst experience of my life, hands down.
Id suggest an alarm system if you don''t have one and can find a way to afford it. It has helped me sleep better, and finally, a year later, I''m able to stay home if DH is out of town for work.

It is such an unsettling experience, but if there is crime in the area, there is no one to say that another kind of robber might be lurking. I don''t mean to scare you, honestly, but the trauma causedby my break in makes me alarmed for everyone!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I am so sorry but grateful you were not home! I have an irrational fear of someone breaking in even though it is not something I have experienced. It got really bad right after I had DD so we put in an alarm system. Best $36 a month I have ever spent. Can''t put a price on peace of mind.

 

[Indylady]

FSU, I''m so sorry to hear this! However, I wouldn''t lose any more sleep over this. Its better to be safe than anything else, of course, so I would channel that energy into making sure all the locks are working, making friends with neighbors who could tell if something suspicious or someone other than you was trying to get in, and possibly getting a security system. Another cheap option is to fit little battery powered alarms that you can get at home depot for about $1-2 to the windows that you don''t use often and might not be covered by the security system (such as a small window in the laundry room, etc).

 

[PumpkinPie]

how fortunate that your neighbour heard and scared him off!

 

[rierie26]

Wow! So sorry this happened, but at least your neighbor was there! I don''t think you have to worry about them coming back as I agree with the poster above that they were probably looking for copper and other things to strip from the vacant house.

 

[Gypsy]

Oh honey, I'm so sorry. We were robbed 18 months ago and NO, you aren't crazy or overreacting. We MOVED because of it. I couldn't function in that space and feel safe. We lived in a good part of town too... the perfect area to steal from. I felt really violated and extremely scared. It's a terrible feeling and I'm sorry you are going through it. ((HUGE HUGS)).