Vacant homes are targets for squatters. If you have an additional property, such a rental that is not lived in 365 days a year, it's extra important to keep it secure.
To keep your property safe from break-ins, theft or a potential squatter occupying the space, it's imperative for homeowners to enact appropriate security measures.
Vacant properties in particular are especially vulnerable to squatting. This could include a property for sale that the owner no longer lives in or an investment property that is left unoccupied between short- or long-term renters.
A squatter occupying your property can be extremely costly to you, with possible damage caused and potential legal fees involved with their eviction.
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There are many simple things you can do from a security standpoint to help you keep your properties secure and monitored from afar.
When trying to protect a home, particularly one that is not being lived in, a regular lock or even a smart lock aren't going to be highly protective.
Quentin Fonteno, director of Dawgs Vacant Property Security, helps owners protect their properties by securing the entry points to a home.
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"If the property is vacant, smart locks don't provide the level of security required to keep intruders out," Fonteno told Fox News Digital.
"We have steel security doors that also provide secure access via a code. The best practice to keep the property free from squatters is completely removing the option for intruders to gain access."
To secure your home properly, think about all the different entries an individual could use to get in.
Especially ones that are located on the first floor of the house that have particularly easy access.
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A steel security door blocks off the most obvious entry point, but also having steel window guards in place can give you piece of mind that those entryways are safe and secure too.
Regular supervision of a property is vital to its security.
If you yourself can't visit your property on a regular basis as it's not close to your primary residence, it's important to have someone else looking over that property for you.
That could be a family member, friend, trusted neighbor or a company like Dawgs Vacant Property Security, that offers inspections to customers.
If you have invested in a property outside your primary residence for short-term vacation rentals or long-term leases, hiring a trusted property manager can help you look over that property, handle day-to-day operations and make sure there isn't anything suspicious behavior happening.
Surveillance cameras are an easy way to monitor your property when you are not there.
Many surveillance cameras connect right to your mobile phone, so you can be alerted when there is movement detected on your property.
When installing your cameras, have them focused on the different entry areas to your home, ADT recommends. This, of course, includes the front and back doors, but also keep first floor windows and basements in mind.
If you have an enclosed porch, having a camera in that area also isn't a bad idea.
Keep in mind that while security cameras are a good measure to have, they alone aren't enough to protect your property.
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"The challenge arises if an intruder isn't noticed for a period of time and the owner no longer has access to proof that the intruder is truly an intruder," Nick Oberhouse of Dawgs Vacant Property Security told Fox News Digital, noting that a video auto-deleting after a period of time as a possible detriment to a homeowner.
If this happens, and the squatter has a false lease written up, many states will require that owner to go through the court process to remove them.
Having a combination of surveillance monitoring, plus steel door and window guards can help keep your property as safe as possible.
A property that looks unused can be a target for squatters.
Simple maintenance measures like keeping the grass well cut can help the home look lived in when it's not.
When a friend or family member is going to check on the house, have them park in the driveway, so the impression isn't sent that there's never anyone home.
There are also lights you can set up that automatically turn on when no one is actually inside, Oberhouse said, but added that squatters are "often very well researched."
With this being the case, it's important to use a variety of security measures in order to keep your home fully protected.
