When you decide to sell your home, and it’s going to be vacant, you may be thinking of installing an home security alarm system. But before you do, you have to make sure you understand a few things. For starters, the secret code won’t be a secret for long. Whether it’s published on the MLS, or given to all potential buyer’s agents via phone or email, the secret will be out.

Alarms provide protection while your home is vacant or not. But you have to remember that the alarm can actually become a nuisance when instructions aren’t followed, whether it’s the instruction on the listing page stating that the buyer’s agent should call beforehand for the code (and they don’t) or if the step-by-step instructions hanging on the wall directly next to the alarm seem to be written in some other language.

To avoid these mishaps, selling agents can opt to show the house by appointment only, since too many times buyers agents don’t call for the code and the proper authorities are contacted, the alarm company is contacted and eventually the selling agent is contacted. But there are other options too. That’s why you have to decide whether or not the alarm system is actually a good idea.

Here are some tips you can utilize if you don’t want the hassles of an alarm system:

Fool the dummies with dummies. Dummy cameras, yard signs and window decals are all great ways to try and fool an intruder. Install motion detectors for all areas. Front yard, back yard and the sides of your homes will light up if motion is detected and generally scare the intruder away. Timed interior lights could also deter intruders and trick them into thinking someone is home. As a selling agent, recommend to your clients that leaving some furniture in the home, including knick-knacks on windowpanes and a couch or hanging plants will help make the home look like someone is living there still.

Again, these are just some ideas to help you get through the joys of home selling, with hopefully, less stress. Alarm systems are a great way to secure your home, however sometimes they’re more of a hassle than a luxury.

Vacation home security is now more important than ever. With rising unemployment, vandalism due to high scrap prices for copper, metals and aluminum, and longer times between visits due to high gas prices or airline fees.

While foreclosure rates remain high, even for vacation homes or second homes, criminals will be seeking crimes of opportunity.

Some of us turn to time-share properties as a more affordable alternative. Each of these two forms of vacation home ownership present unique home security issues.

If you own your own vacation home and live there either seasonally or on a weekend basis, you’re leaving your second home unoccupied for significant periods of time. You’re also establishing a pattern of occupancy that any savvy intruder can soon learn and use to his advantage. If you own a time-share property, you own a percentage of a vacation home. You’re sharing it with complete strangers who may or may not adhere to the same standards of security that you do. And, of course, you trust your time-share company to properly maintain and secure the property during those periods when nobody is staying there.

You may believe that merely applying the same safety practices you follow in your primary residence should be enough to protect your vacation home. But in fact, you need to go above and beyond the rituals of safety you’d observe in a home you live in on a more frequent basis. Homes that look unoccupied are easy targets. You’ve seen those homes with newspapers piled up outside or that appears pitch black at night when the rest of the neighborhood is lit. Consider the following guidelines for protecting your vacation home year-round:

Consider a GE Home Security System from your local Fortune Hi Tech Marketing representative. With FHTM and GE Home Security, it is now easier than ever to protect what means most to you. With customizable systems to meet your specific needs, keep your family, possessions and investments safe. GE is continually advancing new technologies that help homeowners monitor their properties, make schools safer, improve airline security, and more. Plus GE can integrate new security technologies with existing equipment and IT systems. Whether you need an entire system, or individual products, GE has the right technology to keep you safe.

Introduce yourself to your neighbors – particularly those who reside in your neighborhood year-round. Tell them what your schedule is, and ask them to keep an eye on things while you’re away. That doesn’t mean handing them a key, although you may wish to do so if you know and trust your neighbors well enough. And watching over your home doesn’t have to be a job to which you burden your neighbors; simply ask them to remain alert to your home’s appearance. Leave with your neighbors all of your contact numbers at your primary residence, so that they may contact you immediately in the event they spot suspicious activity. Give them verbal approval to contact the local police department in your absence, particularly if they spot suspicious activity and can’t reach you by phone.

Consider the personal items you’re leaving in your vacation home when it’s unoccupied. Anything expensive – including cars, computers, televisions, DVD players and stereo equipment – should be stored under lock and key while you’re away. Take photographs of all of your possessions in your second home, and store them in a safe at your primary residence for insurance purposes. Engrave your name on the back of your expensive electronic equipment.

If you own a timeshare property, find out from the management company exactly what kinds of security measures they have in place. This includes the policies to which maintenance staff are required to adhere. Find out if the management company replaces the locks on doors in the event that tenants lose a key.

For most homeowners, the acquisition of a vacation home is the culmination of years of hard work. That’s why you owe it to yourself and your family to obtain for your vacation home the most stringent standards of safety within your means.

With the GE Home Security lifetime replacement of parts warranty and state of the art UL listed technology, you can rest easy. The highest quality products, competitive pricing and up to 20% off of homeowner and vacation home insurance makes GE Home Security the leader in the industry. One button arming, pager features, door chimes and a 24 hour emergency button make around the clock peace of mind a reality. Let FHTM and GE Home Security give you the power to protect your family and your home.

Here are just a few of the reasons to trust your security with a GE Wireless Home Security System:

One Button Arming: You arm your wireless home security system by pushing a single button.

The Peacekeeper® wireless home security system comes with entry/exit delays at the doors you select, and you can also put these same doors and windows on instant alert with the push of a single button.

Pager Feature: The wireless home security system has a pager feature. Should your child not return from school at the proper time and turn off the system, the system can be programmed to page you.

24-hour Emergency Button: You have access to an emergency panic button that allows you to summon help 24 hours a day.

Battery Back-up: In the event of a power failure, your Command Station will automatically convert from AC to DC.

Door Chime: The wireless home security system will, at your request, act as a door chime. Should your child try to slip out a door unattended, the system will notify you?

Your security and the security of your guests is the most important concern, if you are considering a home or vacation home monitoring system, please contact your local Fortune Hi Tech Marketing Representative, a GE authorized dealer or visit this link to find a representative near you http://fhtmus.com/monaview.

Your Travel Buddy uses and recommends GE Home Security by Fortune HI Tech Marketing. Your Travel Buddy (http://www.ytbvacationrentals.com) is a free vacation rental listing services and publishes vacation rental marketing and cost savings articles for the vacation home or vacation rental owner.

The wireless home security camera has given developers even more to work with since the components can be installed anywhere with just a battery pack as its power source. The technology for the wireless home security camera is advancing so much so that you can do all sorts of interesting things with it by yourself. The present day wireless home security camera is packed with more features that it seems to be something out of the future.

WIFI Control

Snaking cables (or any cables for that matter) can be a nuisance. And these are connections that you can’t bring with you outside of the home. Imagine how difficult it will be just to connect to your home security camera and how much you will be spending to do it. The beauty of the wireless home security camera changes all of that with the simple use of WIFI technology. With WIFI, you can control your wireless home security camera anywhere as long as you can connect to the Internet. Of course, your wireless home security camera system must be hooked up to the Internet as well. With WIFI, you can control your wireless home security camera with a remote computer, laptop, or even a WIFI capable phone which is not uncommon to find these days. With the right software technology you will even be able to see what your wireless home security camera “sees” from any location with Internet access. This gives you endless options of how you want to monitor your family and valuables.

Night Vision

Although there are many people who still prefer the conventional black and white recordings off of their wireless home security camera, even that department has advanced with time. Today, one wireless home security camera option allows you to record all sorts of activity in complete darkness. This option for a wireless home security camera can be very helpful especially if you travel through different time zones on a regular basis. For example, while in New York, you can still use your wireless home security camera back home in Los Angeles even thought its night time there. A wireless home security camera with night vision can also be placed in dark areas of the house such as the garage and the basement so you can still keep an eye on things in those places.

Infrared

A wireless home security camera can also act as a security camera in the sense that it can detect objects around a room or on people themselves. Although this is an awkward feature, it is an available one nevertheless. A wireless home security camera can also have built-in infrared so that you can detect metal objects around a room and maybe on people. This is helpful if, for example, you are in the house when an intruder enters. You will know right away if that person is armed or not with a dangerous weapon by looking through the infrared option in your wireless home security camera.

The modern wireless home security camera is almost military-grade. It can do all sorts of advanced things to keep your home safe and secure. Know what you will need to protect your home so that you know exactly what features to look out for in a wireless home security camera.