Community Chat

[Lipstickdiva]

My DH's best friend owns a local alarm company. We had a system put in and our cost for just the equipment was close to $1,000.00 and he gave the stuff to us for his cost. That did not include installation which we didn't have to pay. He told us had we been Joe Customer from off the street and got what we got for an alarm system, with installation we would have been looking at close to $3,000.00.

He and DH installed it and everything is run through our walls. There are no wires running down the outside of our walls like some companies do. And this is the way he installs for everyone, not just us. Our smoke detectors are hard wired with the alarm system so we no longer have to worry about chirping batteries. LOL

We had 2 panels installed. One of the panels alone was $250.00 because we are able to upload photos and they scroll constantly across the panel. I wouldn't have spent the money on that, it was DH's idea. LOL

Our monitoring is a little less than $30.00 a month but it's paid quarterly.

[straykatz]

We have ADT....all our windows and doors are on the system...it also includes fire/carbonmonoxide detection....we do not have motion detectors inside the house because we have cats.

[Shorty2U]

On 5/7/2014 KathyPet said: Is this all because of that female sales person who knocked on your door? I don't think,that there are alarm systems that will help if you open the door to talk with someone. are you now afraid she is going to return and break in to force you to,show her your electric bill?

NO I am not afraid she is going to return! She was trying to scam us on the spot but it didnt work. I want an alarm for years and due to the recent increase in burglaries and scams in our county I thought its time.

I am alone in early mornings as my husband works early and we are getting older. I am not in great health so I cant fight off an attacker. So you can never be too safe, and we cannot have a dog because my husband is deathly allergic. And I don't want guns in my home. My friends/family either have guns, dogs or alarm systems. We have cats. What are cats going to do? Scratch them? lol

Thanks for the replies. I am calling ADT tomorrow and still waiting for DD to tell me about her friends service. They have a discount now.

ETA I will check with our insurance company too. Great idea, thanks Red Top and everyone else who replied. I appreciate it!

[terrier3]

When I bought my home, the previous owner had installed ADT. She had lots installed - all the windows have alarms, the doors, fire, carbon monoxide and cold (in case your furnace goes out when you are gone and your house gets too cold). There were also 3 motion sensors, living room, kitchen/dining and master bedroom. I have 23 windows and 4 doors that have alarms.

There is a board that allows me to turn off or turn on areas and types of alarms...I keep some windows on the 2nd floor open in the summer and didn't want the alarm to go off if they were open. I have the motion sensors off unless we are on vacation.

The previous owner spent well over $1000 for installation...I think it was closer to $2000. She spent $12,000 on California closets too (and now I get to enjoy them!). I have an annual contract and pay extra to have the battery replacement included - it comes to about $450 a year. Battery costs can add up with all the windows and doors and monitors...they come once a year or so and just replace all the batteries at once at no extra charge.

When one of us leaves the house, they punch in the code at a keypad near each of the two main doors. If you forget and try to leave, the door chimes in a way to remind you to activate the alarm. Same thing when you get home...just come in, go to the keypad and enter the number.

I'll admit I only have it armed at night...I usually feel safe and can't be bothered when I am throwing garbage or getting the mail. There is a secondary "chime" that goes off when the system isn't armed but someone is entering or leaving one of the main doors....kind of like "Honey, I'm home!"

If you have cable, many cable companies now offer alarm systems. If you "bundle" it with cable, you'll get a discount.

[corita]

On 5/7/2014 Preds said:

Answering the door with a large butcher knife and a barking dog help, too. Sorry ... had that happen yesterday and scared the poor man to death. He wanted to invite us to his church ... now I'm not so sure.

True story...doorbell rang and I answered, screen door between me and a young man. He was selling something - can't remember what it was. I told him "no", was not interested. He became enraged, started yelling at me and pulling on the doorknob of the screen door. Thank goodness, I had locked the screen door!! I closed the door and moved away from it, but he scared the heck out of me. There is no telling what he might have done had he been able to get to me!! From that day on, I never close the front and back doors without locking the screen doors. Edited to add -- and when someone is at the door, I never open the front and back doors without making sure that the screen doors are locked!!

[missy1]

I would really check out who installs this system. They need to be trustworthy.. I would use other means of protection.,

[raven-blackbird]

on ours we can unlock our doors, see who is at our front door, from our phone.................... we're hard wired into the fire department, that one is a mixed blessing...........I actually love this system....................................raven

[gazelle77]

I got tired of the bill every month.... We got a big dog....works great!

[Kalli]

I paid almost $3000 to have ours installed about 10 years ago. Our windows and doors are armed. Plus we have a few motion detectors in the busy areas. At night, everything is armed and the pets are in their crates so they can't set it off. We have "part on" and "All on". Part on is for the perimeter, doors and windows. All on includes the motion detectors. Of I can turn the whole system off.

I set the system to make a sound if doors and windows are opened. We live in a small town and it's not unusual for someone to stop unannounced for a visit so I like knowing when someone's coming in. These sound notifications are always in use whether the system is armed or not but if I didn't like them, I can turn them off.

I have a "fob" that I can take outside the house on our property so if I get attacked or see something suspicious while I'm outside on our property I can set that off and the cops will be notified right away. Otherwise, when the alarm goes off the company calls me and if I don't give the code, they'll call the police.

Ours is $275 a year.

-Kalli

[makeup addict]

I have Protect America. I did the installation myself. I paid 22.00 for shipping and 39.95 a month. I got rid of my landline and this was one if the first companies that offered service using cell towers; didn't need a landline. You can also buy accessories like key fob for quick entry. With a home security system, you do get a discount on your home owners insurance. They have different packages depending on if you want security with fire and carbon monied protection. Easy setup, you just call them up and input number in the control panel.