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.

When selecting a rental, many students often ignore the safety factor. Sure the front door has a lock, and maybe even a deadbolt, but how safe are you really? Some of you have the benefit of being in a safe environment while attending school, but all of us at RateMyStudentRental chose Flint, MI to attend college. Maybe you don’t know, but Flint is consistently in the top five most dangerous cities by population. Think of it like this, we have one of the highest chances of being victim of a violent crime in the country. I guess some might consider us authorities on security.

So, after witnessing MANY of our friends having their houses and cars broken into, here are a few tips we’ve come up with to keep in mind when scoping out your place.

When selecting a rental, many students often ignore the safety factor. Sure the front door has a lock, and maybe even a deadbolt, but how safe are you really? Some of you have the benefit of being in a safe environment while attending school, but all of us at RateMyStudentRental chose Flint, MI to attend college. Maybe you don’t know, but Flint is consistently in the top five most dangerous cities by population. Think of it like this, we have one of the highest chances of being victim of a violent crime in the country. I guess some might consider us authorities on security.

So, after witnessing MANY of our friends having their houses and cars broken into, here are a few tips we’ve come up with to keep in mind when scoping out your place.

The Weak Points: Doors and Windows

Of course your property has locks on the doors and windows, but what condition are they in? A wooden door in a wooden frame simply won’t cut it. First off, chances are it won’t be thermally acceptable. Security-wise a swift kick or strong shoulder and an intruder is standing in your living room ogling your Playstation and plasma trying to figure how it’s going to fit through the door he just busted down. Wooden door frames splinter, and wooden doors break. It’s a fact, steel is stronger than wood, so why wouldn’t you want your deadlock secured in a steel casing in order to hold your steel door shut?

Windows unfortunately are windows. Unless you have unsightly bars, which incidentally scream “BAD NEIGHBORHOOD” windows are a weak point. Still each should have a working locking mechanism.

The Alarm System

Alarms are important, but what kind does your prospective rental have (or does it even have one at all)? Some alarms are self contained noise makers, and obviously only minimally effective. There are perimeter alarms which have sensors on each door and window and often have motion sensors as well. Additionally, utilizing a service such as ADT to monitor your alarm and notifying police when the alarm is activated greatly increases your safety and reduces your risk of a break in.

If you live in a bad part of town like we do, finding a rental with a security system can be well worth the effort and money. The first time a thief breaks in and steals your computer, you’ll wish you had shelled out the extra $50/month for that place down the street that had ADT. Trust us.

“Security” Lighting

Here’s one that is quite counter intuitive. Most students and landlords believe that a “security light”,one that lights up the dark areas around a house when motion is detected, deters would be burglars. Actually, the exact opposite is true! It seems these things light up so often, that no one pays attention to them anymore. Burglars realize this, and actually use the lights to their advantage; you’re actually illuminating one of the weakest points of your house and making it easy for the thief to see what they’re doing.

Safe Parking

This one can be difficult to secure because many times you’re stuck with what is available. Property enhancements often don’t extend to the yard and driveway for student rentals and you may even have to park in the street. Good lighting is a common desire, but I urge you to remember what was said previously. More importantly for safe parking is an open area. If there are no places for an assailant to hide, then a surprise attack will likely be avoided.

Wherever you park, one good tip is to keep all valuables out of sight. Even not-so-valuables should be hidden. We’ve had friends whose cars were broken into, the CD’s were left (after all, who listens to CD’s anymore?), and all the change from their cup holder was taken!

Bonus Tip: The “Student Rental” Sign

This is one that a lot of people may not think about, but we’ve seen what a difference this makes here in Flint. The “Student Rental” sign in the window or out in the front yard is like an X on a treasure map to burglars. If “Student Rental Sign” were in the Burglar Dictionary (assuming there was such thing as a Burglar Dictionary), here is what it’d say:

Student Rental Sign (noun):

A sign posted on an otherwise unassuming rental property indicating the presence of many valuables, and often cutting edge electronic equipment, inside that rental.

Be weary of rentals that are known for having this sign (even if the landlord takes it down now, chances are the burglars already know). And if your rental already has this sign, demand that it be taken down now (it can’t hurt).

Do you have anymore suggestions or tips? We’d love to hear them in the comments.