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Scott in Houston wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote:
I need to get the cell phone set up for mine. i have it on a land line. I don't even have the phone plugged into the wall. I make and receive all my calls on the cell phone. I am paying for a land line so my alrm can be monitored... . Now that I am thinking about it, I will probably call them tomorrow and see what it will take to set it up like yours. I know they offer it. I just don't know the cost. thanks for the information!

Nice. I think it's worth it. The one possible down-side is that if there's true civil unrest, the cell service dies. I experienced that during hurricanes Rita and Ike. That being said, during those times, you can't really rely on police response at all, but you will still have the loud alarm and, again, the bad guys don't know when the police are coming.

In a previous home, our security system was hooked up to the land line. We had a "fun" experience one night when we were awakened to an alarm screaming in our house. It was the first time, and made us realize we had no real plan if that happened... total chaos.

When the police arrived, we searched for the source of the alarm and found nothing wrong, but when I picked up my phone, it was dead. No dial tone. So we went to the phone box and found the largest hornets nest I've ever seen. It had cut the line, which caused the alarm.
(Side note... funniest thing I've ever seen... the cop, a very very large man (the kind you're glad "he's on your side") was with me. He was the one who opened the phone box, and when he saw that nest, he screamed at a pitch I've only heard from my 6 year old daughter. It was the highest, loudest, most feminine scream I've ever heard. I was dying laughing. He was afraid of "bees". Had we found a prowler, I'm convinced this guy would have pulverized him without a second thought, but these "bees" freaked him out! haha I only wish I had it on video.)

tbrown wrote:If you're betting on it scaring burglars off before the police arrive, a local alarm works just as well and is a lot cheaper.

Scott in Houston wrote:

03Lightningrocks wrote: I would be tempted to rush home and with my luck probably get myself shot...LOL. You have the alarm system for the same reason as I. It creates a time limit for the bad guys. I know beyond any doubt, they aren't going to have time to get my safe open!

Does that pager system also call the monitoring company or do you get the pager system in lieu of a monitoring service?

You and I think alike. It's all about making them scared to stick around. The alarm is LOUD, and they're going to know that their time is limited. I know they may grab a laptop or something and bolt, but I know my safe is going to stay SAFE.

The systems texts me when the alarm goes off, and the monitoring service calls my house. If they can't reach me, they call the police. It's all part of the monitoring. And the information from my house is sent via a cell signal, so we don't rely on a land-line that can be cut. It's pretty cool. Response time has been excellent the one time we needed it too. It also texts me every time the alarm is armed or disarmed. That can get annoying, but I can turn that off and on as I see fit. That feature comes in handy when out of town, because I cans see when our housekeeper enters and re-arms (or fails to re-arm).

Scott in Houston wrote:

Lambda Force wrote:How about an alarm system that pages you. Then you can call the cops on your cell phone and say, "Someone is breaking into my house!"

That's what I have, and from personal experience, when my alarm goes off, it's about 5 minutes until they respond.
When I was in Sugar Land, it was 5 minutes max. In Katy, the same...

The primary benefit of a security system is that it creates a ticking clock for the intruders. Even if the average response time was 30 minutes, the bad guys don't know that, and unless they're on drugs, I can guarantee you they won't test it. They'll most likely bolt ... or grab something expensive then bolt.

The good news is, everything you have in a safe will be safe.
Any safe can be defeated with an unlimited amount of time. Don't give them unlimited time... get a security system. Personally, I think anyone who forgoes this as *part* of their security plan is insane or naive. It's just one more tool in your bag. Why not use it???

Longshot38 wrote:Guys when I'm speaking of alarm systems I'm not pulling that out of thin air. I'm talking from first hand experience. LEOs DO NOT get a big hurry get to your home when they get an call from the alarm company. If you happen to catch them when they are not having a busy day and they happen to be in the neighborhood then you were lucky. But I promise you that a police officer running code 3 across town to answer an intrusion alarm is almost unheard of.

03Lightningrocks wrote:A loud alarm screeching through the house as the burglar looks for stuff to grab, puts added pressure on them to get out. Having a monitored alarm system is not so much an effort to catch the thieves as it is to get the cops on the way in case you are in the house and fighting off a thug.

Longshot38 wrote:Here is question. Why can't you store your safe in an apartment?

speedsix wrote:...yep...you also said "...aside from a typical storage facility..."...guess you'll have to paint it to look like a phone booth, hang an "out of order" sign on the dial knob, and set it out on the corner... (since you also asked "...what are my options...")