ᐅ Building a Single-Family Home Suitable for Extended Absences – What Should You Consider?

Pianist schrieb:
...
For example, I don’t like it when in the morning you look out the window and all the copper downspouts are missing from the adjacent buildings.

Matthias

You’re exaggerating. And not just a little—YOU are exaggerating. Your fears are unfounded, since everything can be replaced. Monitoring helps little; technology that goes beyond the necessary only attracts attention or is over the top. Sure, the archive... as if anyone would be interested in that. And if your archive includes the Black Mauritius, usually even exposed cash is overlooked, because only jewelry or cars are interesting. Sorry, but this needed to be said.

“The neighbor could set the house on fire with a lit cigarette”… a drone can do that too, and even much more. Look it up. It happens three times a day, but apparently we’re not important enough for it to have “happened” here yet [emoji6]. Eureka, and tomorrow you might have an accident while on vacation.

First the archive, then graffiti vandals, stone throwers, copper thieves, opportunistic criminals, then an attempted break-in (with the pry mark on the frame—you’re still alive, although that’s an insurance claim) ... finally the argument about possible heating failure... By the way, I don’t want to know about any of that while I’m on holiday!

I find this thread’s collection very entertaining, but completely detached from common sense and reality. Even if Berlin is not a suburb of Föhr, I think you’re either phobic or you just passed by the government district and got inspired.

Come on, keep smiling, stay at home. Lie down on the couch. Don’t get on a plane and don’t climb a ladder. Then everything will stay fine.

Pianist schrieb:
I find the course of this discussion a bit strange. My question really wasn’t unreasonable. Ultimately, what I want to know is: What do I need to consider to ensure that as many possible situations as possible can be managed remotely when I’m not at home? And this also applies to later times when my parents might no longer be able to help. For example, I need to receive an alert if the heating fails during winter. I have sensors for various things, but the indoor temperature is not monitored anywhere. I have now solved this with a simple GSM smart plug with a temperature sensor.

I want to have the assurance at all times that any problems that arise can be resolved, so I don’t have to cut a vacation short, for example. That shouldn’t be so hard to understand, right?

Matthias

I don’t know how you currently live, but I’ve never had to cancel a vacation because of vandalism.

It seems you are living in your own artistic world.

Usually, when you think everything is safe, it’s the most trivial things that cause problems.

I understand the approach of wanting to protect against vandalism, burglary, and theft. I can also see the reasoning behind having a specially secured archive.

What I don’t find practical is having a fully reportable house where you have to be reachable everywhere at all times in case something happens.

You’re not talking about being informed in the event of flooding on the ground floor or a fire, but instead seem to want to be notified immediately of every little twitch. Heating issues, vandalism, a kicked-in mailbox, a homeless person in the front yard — it’s a never-ending story.

To me, that sounds like slavery, with the house as the master. I don’t think that’s mentally healthy.

In your place, I would follow these tips from previous posters:

a) Doors and windows with a very high security standard.

b) Ensure good visibility of potential entry points for neighbors.

c) Simulate occupancy during absences.

d) Use house-sitting services for longer absences.

e) Private security service for emergencies.

...

And still, something can happen. When it does, it’s all the more frustrating and costly. You can also save on security measures and insure yourself comprehensively against vandalism, etc. Then, in case of an incident, you can take a deep breath, calm down, and let the insurance experts handle it as much as possible.

This juggling act of trying to exclude every possible risk doesn’t make you happy, does it?

chand1986 schrieb:

Does juggling with excluding all possible risks really make you happy?

That’s exactly what I wondered too... Who wants to keep worrying about that all the time? Yes, a certain level of safety is definitely good, but you can’t eliminate everything. A good, watchful neighborhood probably has the greatest value in this regard.

Tego12 schrieb:
That’s exactly what I was wondering... Who wants to spend all their time worrying about this... Yes, a certain level of security is definitely good, but you can’t prevent everything. A good neighborhood where people look out for each other is probably the most valuable factor.

I think that also comes with age. The older you get, the more fears grow in your mind.

No offense intended!

For example, we leave our balcony door open for a few hours while supervising children on the play street.

My father-in-law is gradually turning his place into a Stasi-level high-security prison. Every time a new Aldi commercial comes out, he buys another beeper or alarm gadget.

Last week, when I wanted to air out the place in the morning during a visit, one of these loud devices went off. He was on sleeping pills and hard to wake up, and the neighbors were already gathered in the garden^^

I got an earful first about how you need special measures to open a balcony door^^

It was funny, if it weren’t so sad.

Tego12 schrieb:
A good, watchful neighborhood is definitely one of the most valuable assets.

Of course. But first, neighbors aren’t always around. And in my specific case, they wouldn’t notice anything at all because they are too far away. The risk area, if I proceed with this project, would be the south side. It is almost entirely surrounded by a public green space, where in one part even a path runs right along the fence. The responsible authority has now removed the benches because they were constantly vandalized.

I’m really glad that you all obviously live in peaceful areas, but I’m here in Berlin, and basically everything that can happen does happen here. The issue with the copper actually happened as well.

The only advantage here is that if you need them, the police will be on site within two minutes. But for that, you need short reporting channels that also work when you are not present. I imagine it like this: Someone climbs over the fence and approaches the house. They enter the detection range of one of the video cameras, and the sensors trigger an alert to the security control center. The control center looks at the footage, sees the people there, and calls the police. When the police arrive, the front gate is opened remotely so the patrol car can drive directly to the back and apprehend the intruders before greater damage occurs.

I think that is a sensible concept. Video surveillance is important because it allows the control center to get an accurate picture of the actual situation on site. That is not possible with pure perimeter security alone. A few years ago, I had an alarm activation where the tamper circuit was triggered. This could have meant that someone was attempting to interfere with external components. The control center called me, but I was on the opposite side of the city. So I told them to send the police. They were on site with two patrol cars and four officers until I arrived, which of course I have to pay for. That’s understandable. But I don’t think it’s good if four well-trained police officers are unavailable for other calls for an hour just because my system triggered an alert that later turned out to be a technical fault. Therefore, the house simply needs to be able to provide more information, in my opinion.

Matthias