Home Security Systems

[NOYFB]

I would like your opinions and advice on home security systems. I've been feeling pretty freaked out lately about the crime stats in my neighborhood and just last night a woman that I work with (which is 7 blocks from my home) was chased out into the street by a strange man as she was leaving work. There's also a concern for me as we have a lawn care company and 2 dog walkers in our condo building, all who have keys to our front gate, front door, back door and garage. I feel like, at any time, any of these folks could break into any of the units or the garage and burglarize us.

I'm looking at a couple of different options: SimpliSafe and Frontpoint. I like the idea of a mobile app that Frontpoint has and also the no-contract idea with SimpliSafe. I don't want to use ADT because my friend had a bad experience with them. Do any of you use either SimpliSafe or Frontpoint? And if you do, what do you like/not like about them?

Thanks in advance.

 

[missy]

HI Lil Misfit! I am sorry about the reason you are looking into this but I can highly recommend Frontpoint. We have this at the beach house and have for a few years.

We can control in via our phones/computers and my dh has a hook up to cameras so he can check things out remotely whenever he wants to.

It works very well and in fact when our handyman came to our house and forgot to tell us he set the alarm off and the police came because we were not available when Frontpoint tried reaching us so they called the local police. It really works.

There is nothing I don't like about them. We installed it ourselves so easy and when we needed something replaced they overnighted it to us. They are a pleasure to deal with and so far so good.

 

[sonnyjane]

I know you said you don't want ADT, but we've used them for the last two years without incident and they have an app to control features as well. Our payment is only $42.79 a month.

 

[Matata]

I installed Frontpoint about 6 months ago. Easy as can be. Their customer service is terrific and the system works as promised. I researched a lot of vendors and read a ton of reviews. I especially like that the system is not hard wired so potential intruders can't disarm it from outside by snipping wires. And the control panel is pretty much bulletproof. One of cats knocked it off the counter and it broke apart and still worked. I've since put it on a wall to keep it safe from fuzzy feeties. I also downloaded the app on my smartphone so I can arm and disarm it from my car.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I used a local company and it was the best $35 I spent a month. Their system didn't use phones (so didn't matter if you had no phone line or they cut the lines). They would actually speak threw the system if there was an issue. I didn't realize it was a 5 year contact (which seemed insane). They reluctantly let me out of it when I moved out of state.

 

[NOYFB]

Thanks Ladies. I appreciate the feedback. The thing I don't like about Frontpoint is that their website is not very user friendly and I can't research the options without talking to a salesperson, which I hate doing. Also, from the reviews, it seems as if any add-ons are more expensive than those offered by Simplisafe.

I'm hoping someone that has Simplisafe will respond.

 

[kenny]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

 

[missy]

Thanks Ladies. I appreciate the feedback. The thing I don't like about Frontpoint is that their website is not very user friendly and I can't research the options without talking to a salesperson, which I hate doing. Also, from the reviews, it seems as if any add-ons are more expensive than those offered by Simplisafe.

I'm hoping someone that has Simplisafe will respond.

The website could use improvements but the Frontpoint people are easy and pleasant to talk to and super helpful. I get where you are coming from but in reality the system is easy to install and works so well with minimum customer service interaction so that's a plus.

There are less expensive systems out there but we did an exhaustive research before we chose them and came to the conclusion Frontpoint was the best for us.

Easy to use remotely (on our phones and computers) and check on things as we are not here often as it is our second house and as Matata wrote it is wireless so not snipping of wires and preventing the system from keeping us safe. Also when we lost power a few times (before we got our generator at the beach house) the system has a backup battery power so it never stopped working.
It is so easy I can use it remotely and arm/disarm and I am technologically challenged. We have had the system since 2011 and so far nothing negative to report.

Also, we can keep it armed with the motion sensors off when we are in the house which is an advantage IMO. After that home invasion and awful murders of that family in Connecticut I feel safer keeping it on when I am alone in the house though my dh thinks I am being silly. Just keep the motion sensors off and you are good and when you leave you arm it with the motion sensors on.

HTH!

 

[jordyonbass]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

This is probably why I haven't ever been robbed. Home handyman and garden work are not my field of expertise and my boat is my most expensive motorized carriage

 

[MollyMalone]

Have you sought leads re a local independent company?

I'm in an apt building condo now & have no system for my unit. But when married and in a single-family house, we went with a local independent, premises security outfit for the assessment of what was best suited for our home; the installation; and monitoring. 0wned and operated by two retired, NYPD detectives (who told us some of what we thought we wanted was unnecessary) & we had more confidence in them as supervising managers & in the caliber-background of their (relatively few) employees than the impressions left by the big name franchisees.

 

[kenny]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

This is probably why I haven't ever been robbed. Home handyman and garden work are not my field of expertise and my boat is my most expensive motorized carriage

Ah, Yes ... Boat ... a hole in the water that you throw money into.

 

[jordyonbass]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

This is probably why I haven't ever been robbed. Home handyman and garden work are not my field of expertise and my boat is my most expensive motorized carriage

Ah, Yes ... Boat ... a hole in the water that you throw money into.

Apparently Boat is also an old acronym, it's short for 'Bring On Another Thousand'

Slightly more on topic, while I haven't had my house robbed I have had someone try to steal my boat which makes me wonder if the sight of the boat in the driveway is enough to make thieves look past what's inside the house and aim for the boat instead.
The problem for the thief in my circumstance was that I keep the boat so well secured out of paranoia (justified concern now maybe?) that it would take at least 30 minutes for a skilled tradesman with very noisy power tools to be able to remove the locks and tow it away on a car. He only got one of the locks removed in just over 15 minutes and it was the easiest one to remove.

Oh wait, my 300lb Pacific Islander neighbour may have also been a problem for them as well when he came over after hearing the noise...I'm thinking he may be the best thing for home security. And at a 6-pack of beer per incident he is cheaper than most companies as well!

 

[NOYFB]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

While I appreciate your post, Kenny, it's not very helpful. I'm not sure if you read my original post, but we live in a small condo building so we can't keep just let the building/yard go to sh*t, as we are not the only ones who live here. Not that I would do that anyway.

 

[NOYFB]

Have you sought leads re a local independent company?

I'm in an apt building condo now & have no system for my unit. But when married and in a single-family house, we went with a local independent, premises security outfit for the assessment of what was best suited for our home; the installation; and monitoring. 0wned and operated by two retired, NYPD detectives (who told us some of what we thought we wanted was unnecessary) & we had more confidence in them as supervising managers & in the caliber-background of their (relatively few) employees than the impressions left by the big name franchisees.

I have not, but will look into that. Thank you.

 

[amc80]

I'm pretty sure we are getting Vivent soon. Check them out, they have some cool features.

 

[kenny]

Appear to be the poorest residents on your block.
Keep a cheap old car visible from the street; park your new Beemers and Lexi in the garage.
Let your house go longer before painting.
A few weeds in the lawn are a good thing.
Don't be quick to do home repairs that are visible from the street.

While I appreciate your post, Kenny, it's not very helpful. I'm not sure if you read my original post, but we live in a small condo building so we can't keep just let the building/yard go to sh*t, as we are not the only ones who live here. Not that I would do that anyway.

Sorry it doesn't apply to your particular situation.
BTW, ideas offered up in threads by every poster are for the benefit of every reader, not just the OP.

FWIW, increasing home security by making your home appear less-wealthy wasn't my idea.
One of my students is a retired policeman.
He's the one who told me about which houses on the block have lower odds of getting hit.

Of course most people are not willing to do what he described, but it does work and it's free.
Most take pride in maximizing the appearance and value of their home and neighborhood.
People see their car, job, their university's standing, and home as a reflection of their self-worth.
But then they they feel they must spend even more money on home security systems and services.