cost of home alarms?

[bob tilton]

due to dondavis' unfortunate incident (best of luck to you and your family don) - i got to thinking...can any one give me a ballpark figure on the costs of a home alarm system? my wife and i would like to buy a home before the end of the year and i am trying to anticipate various costs of being a home owner - currently a condo owner.

install price?
monthly costs?
options?
service?

i have no idea - been living under a rock (home owner's assc.). it would be for a single story, 3-4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home in the sf bay area. thanks.

[LeeH]

I'm a big fan of Clark Howard. He's a consumer reporter from Atlanta who's so popular he's syndicated in many markets and has a column in Budget Living magazine. Here's his advice:

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/burglar_alarms.html

[Moneyguy1]

THere are a number of DIY alarm systems if you do not require a monitoring service. And, there are a number of ways of installing them: wireless, hard wired, inside bell/horn, outside, contact switches, motion sensors, you name it. When I bought my house it already had a hard wired system installed, but I elected to use it as a "local" system (not monitored by an outside service provider). Previously, I had a simple motion sensor and VERY loud horn. It was sufficient. If you can purchase some alarm stickers and place them on the prominent doors and windows, most prospective thieves are cautious and would raher move on than take the chance. As for fire and smoke alarms, these can be installed quite easily and should be close to or preferably in bedrooms. I recommend those that operate off 110 volts with battery backup. Don't forget carbon monoxide detection too.

Are you thinking of only neighborhoods with homeowner's associations? Please get a copy of the bylaws for a specific area before you buy. Some are quite restrictive and you may find yourself in violation for something as innocent as leaving your car out in the driveway overnight. I know of some that dictate what color you can paint your house, whether you can plant specific items in your yard, whether you can have a pool, or even change your own oil in the driveway. All of this and you pay a monthly fee that can range from a few dollars to hundreds. Sorry if I misread.....

[tabs]

Home owners associations are rocks..burdens. Many new homes are allready prewired. My neighbor in CA was an ex LAPD and is now an Attorney...his opinion is that a monitered system is usless. By the time the police/security people show the thieves are gone. Guess the police don't like the possibility of being shot at. His advice is to get a loud bell that can wake up the neighborhood on the outside of the house. There is no safe that can't be broken into if given enough of time...so time is the element that you want to shorten for thieves, and noise is the best way to do it.

[JavaBrewer]

The builder of our new home offered a security system that was hardwired but mucho $$$. No option existed to pre-wire home for a 3rd party system. We went no security and then had ADT install a full wireless system with integrated smoke and a hardwire fire detector. We paid close to $2K out the door - still about $1.5K cheaper than through the builder.

The wireless systems have battery driven sender units at the door/window sensors so unless you have window covering they might be offensive to look at.

Other than that, and the occasional dead battery, the whole install was painless. I agree with the observation that most alarms are useless against burglers - window stickers and a sign or two probably do most of the "protection" anyway. The system is purely peace of mind for my wife for when I travel plus it (talks) lets us know when a door/window sensor is opened. The whole episode with the Danielle Van Dam/Westerfield murder - sneaking in at night unknown - at least we get some warning.

Monthly monitoring is around $25. Options included the smoke & fire detectors that automatically notify fire dept in hopes of limiting fire damage. Our house is about 95% flammable so I doubt this would help much.

Good luck.

[n8marx]

ADT put the full wireless alarm system in my home for free. No installation fee and I didn't pay for any of the components either. All I pay is the $32 per month monitoring fee. Mine is a new developement. They came walking down the street offering free security systems to anyone that would take them. The only hitch is that you have to display a 1 foot by 1 foot ADT sign near the front of your house showing that you have the system. The installer said they view it as good advertising and do it to get their name out in the newer neighborhoods. Many people buy their systems based on what their neighbor has.

Anyway, I'd call ADT directly and tell them you heard about the free system deal. Offer to let them use your house as advertising. You never know, it may work.

Good luck.

[JavaBrewer]

Nate, good tip. I don't know if ADT is offering that deal here in SD but they will get a call from me. How many windows/doors were included? What length agreement (monitoring) did you have to sign? I neglected to mention that we got the base system (keypad and about 10 sensors) for free - it's the additional doors and windows that were a killer.

[pwd72s]

Ours cost around two to three grand, plus the annual monitoring fee of $125. Details of how it works I won't give, other than to say that the garage area was important to me. But hey, that's how many badasses try to gain entrance if the house has an attached garage. Or, if they are really serious, through the roof...also easily covered by a competent alarm company..

[bob tilton]

thanks for the feedback guys. this is exactly the info i was looking for. yes nate - great tip.

not exactly sure if this is helpful but i did a completed auctions search on ebay and it seems people are selling ADT stickers and signs. could be a less expensive and TEMP solution.

[n8marx]

My system has 3 door sensors and two motion sensors. It covers all possible points of entry with fewer sensors. Motion sensing was no big deal for me since I don't have, and probably won't ever have, pets that would wander the house at night. More window sensors was no problem if I'd wanted them. The deal was a complete, homeowner approved, system. No charge.

As far as monitoring fees go, I was required to sign up for two years of monitoring at $32 per month. A small price for my wife's piece of mind. She had been wanting a security system ever since we built the house since I occasionally travel for work. Little did I know the answer would literally come walking down the street.

Hope it helps.

[JavaBrewer]

Thanks Nate - that explains it. Our core system was free but we armed all entry/exit points (30+). Now we get a verbal prompt indicating which sensor tripped. Nice to have when you also have little kids running around. Garage is also well covered.