Look on Facebook and you will see many of your friends counting down the days left of class or before they get to go home!  The week or so leading up to the last week of school all students can think about are finals and making the grade, then once finals are over students rush to pack their belongings or pack to head home for break.  As anxious as you may be to leave campus for a few weeks take a couple extra steps to assure you have done everything you can to keep your rental and remaining  possessions safe and sound.

Student rental areas are known by criminals and these criminals know when you will most likely be gone for the holidays as well as other typical student behavior.  To help you protect yourself, we’ve compiled some tips on keeping your rental and your stuff safe when you’re not at your rental, based off of our experiences and from some ‘experts’ (if you will):

1. Take you precious possessions with you!  If you have any items that you absolutely can’t replace or can’t have out on the streets, take it with you!  The rest of your possessions should be put away.  Keep in mind, when a thief is running through your house they are most likely to take what is in sight or easy to get to.  Putting things away or out of sight will give your items a greater chance to stick around.  This reminds me, any bags or back-packs laying around will be something the thief will use to stuff full of goodies, so put those away too.  If you have a safe, see if your can bolt it down to the floor in your closet, a locked safe that can be carried away won’t do you or your possessions any good.
2. Lock it up!  Before leaving, make sure all your windows and doors are locked in the rental, including deadbolt locks! Sometimes, locking windows will not stop a criminal from using a brick or rock to get into your house; the harder you make it for them to break into your house the less likely you will have problems.  Criminals move quick and try to go un-noticed.  If they have to draw attention to themselves by breaking a window, they may opt to try your neighbors with hopes they left a window unlocked.
3. Speaking of breaking windows…pick up around the rental, not only before break but at all times.  Any decent-sized loose rocks, tools, or other objects could be used to break a window.  Having those types of items around is just asking for trouble!
4. Closing all blinds will keep peeping Toms out and won’t tempt criminals when they see your TV, stereo, speakers, collection of CDs (who has those anymore with iPods), DVDs etc.
5. Remember the movie, Home Alone, when it looked like there was an entire Christmas party in the living room of the nearly vacant home?  That’s a bit extreme, but leaving a few lights on in different rooms may give the impression someone is home. You can always ask your landlord to invest in timers for lights in several of the rooms so that they only come on at dusk (as to not waste energy) and turn on and off in different rooms on different nights or through out the night, just in case someone is really keeping an eye on your pad.
6. Don’t leave trash and/or trash cans out at the road.  Setting trash out a few days early because you’re leaving for the week is a green flag for criminals, same as empty trash cans sitting by the road waiting for you to come home to take them back to the garage.  Tips:  If you’re going to miss trash day by a few days just let it build up until next time you come back or ask your landlord if they will come by and set out trash/pick up the cans.
7. Ask you landlord and campus safety to check on the house a couple times during the week.

You shouldn’t only be concerned about deterring criminals from your rental, but there are also a few other tips you can follow to be a responsible tenant:

1. Turn off and unplug unnecessary electronics or any appliances that may be pulling power.  This not only keeps the utility bill lower for you or your landlord, but it’s also a good way to be a little more green.
2. Turn the heat down, NOT off!  Keeping your house at a chilly 55 degrees Fahrenheit will keep pipes from freezing or bursting, which will make a huge mess of your house and either cost you or your landlord a lot of money.  Keeping your place at 55 degrees won’t cost much and it will keep everything in the house (except roommates/pets) at just the right temperature.

These are just a few tips I’ve compiled from experiences over time.  The best advice is use common sense and be aware of the possibilities. And, remember that your landlords should be just as concerned about keeping your rental safe from potential crime.  So, don’t hesitate to talk to your landlord and let them know when you and your roommates will be out of town.