Are you leaving your off-campus apartment or house in Columbus or Athens empty for Winter Break this year? If are abandoning your student rental, take some simple precautions to protect against a possible burglary. These tips apply equally whether you’re leaving for Winter, Spring or Summer breaks, or even for a road-trip weekend.
Police departments in Athens and Columbus, as elsewhere, handle an explosion of burglary reports every school year after Winter Breaks from Ohio University and Ohio State. Student neighborhoods in both cities become like ghost towns, with the great majority of residents heading home to Youngstown, Dayton, Sandusky, New Philadelphia or wherever they live.
Steps to Avoid Getting Ripped Off During Break
• This tip wins The Obvious Award. Lock windows and doors before you leave. If Larry, your least responsible house or apartment mate, is the last one planning to leave, call him before you think he plans to leave and remind him to doublecheck the locks and latches.
• Don’t leave valuable goods lying around where nefarious strangers outside can see them through windows. Take electronics and other compact valuables home with you. Close window coverings so outsiders can’t see in. (This also will add a layer of insulation, helping to keep heat inside during break.)
• Make the house look occupied. Leave a porch light on, both front and back. Leave one or two lights on inside the house, or if you’re really ambitious, set them on a timer. If you or one of your housemates can leave a car in the driveway of your rental house in Columbus or Athens, this is another effective way of making the house look occupied.
• If you know any close neighbors who plan to stay in their rental over Winter Break, ask them to keep an eye on your rental house or apartment. This only works if you know the person to be trustworthy (and most importantly, not a thief).
• Stop your mail delivery while you’re gone. Nothing more tips off a potential burglar that a house is empty than seeing mail spilling out of a mailbox.
• Get renters insurance so you’ll be protected just in case someone, despite your best efforts, burglarizes your off-campus rental over break.