Home security/monitoring

[1100011CS]

Looking for something to temporarily monitor a property that is going to be empty for a while.
Requirements:
Notifies me and/or police of break-in
Alerts me when someone comes to door (3 doors)
Possibly alerts when a vehicle enters driveway (2 driveways, one about 30 yards from house)
No/minimal wiring
No long-term contract

Looking at this one but it doesn't have any outdoor cameras or sensors: https://simplisafe.com/

Any suggestions?

 

[cybychoice]

Ring is probably your best bet, some options are battery powered, notifies straight to phone and you can talk through some of the devices. https://ring.com/

 

[ruxCYtable]

We have Simplisafe at our current home and it has served us very well. There are no contracts but you do have to buy the equipment. You could re-sell it when you were done with it, though.

We just bought another home that will be vacant for a while so I'm in similar situation. After reviewing all options, I've decided on another Simplisafe system at that home. I really wanted to go with Nest so I could integrate with existing security cams, but it's just too expensive.

EDIT: As posted above mentioned, Ring does have a system kind of similar to Simplisafe that is getting good reviews. I had a bad experience with two Ring doorbells that quite working after only a few months, so I'm still lukewarm on the brand. That was before Amazon bought them, however, so hopefully quality has improved.

 

[dmclone]

Assume you're going to have internet to this property?

For external, I've been pretty happy with Nest. You can set up zones to alert you and it will distinguish between people, movement and sounds. I will tell you that even with some of the best cameras, the view is only going to be so-so at night.

For internal, I've been pretty happy with the cheap Wyze cams. I have one Canary and have not been happy with their customer service and the fact that they kind of force you into a service plan.

Another thing you may want to consider are some smart bulbs. With smart bulbs you can have them automatically turn on at different times of the day or just random.

 

[CycloneJames]

I installed an abode system about 6 months ago and have been very happy. I don't have any cameras, and they have terrible reviews. But you can integrate with nest or other third party cameras with IFTTT. I've been looking at getting a Wyze cam or something similar but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

 

[Gunnerclone]

I have Blink XT outdoor wireless cameras all over my property. It’s just a camera system though, not a security system. Motion triggered with cloud backup. You can also watch live or take stills.

I’ve only caught deer so far on it but one day I’m gonna got me a human!

 

[Jacktronic]

Anyone have personal experience with a Vivint system?

 

[norcalcy]

Anyone have personal experience with a Vivint system?

Inherited Vivint equipment from a previous owner. Signed up for the service on month to month basis for $50/month. Phone sales/support people were knowledgeable but very aggressive. Like the ability to remotely monitor the home but not sure if it’s worth $600 per year. No complaints about system so far.

 

[bos]

Assume you're going to have internet to this property?

For external, I've been pretty happy with Nest. You can set up zones to alert you and it will distinguish between people, movement and sounds. I will tell you that even with some of the best cameras, the view is only going to be so-so at night.

For internal, I've been pretty happy with the cheap Wyze cams. I have one Canary and have not been happy with their customer service and the fact that they kind of force you into a service plan.

Another thing you may want to consider are some smart bulbs. With smart bulbs you can have them automatically turn on at different times of the day or just random.

We have Nest and Wyze as well. I saw Wyze is now selling alert systems for doors and windows as well as motion for spaces.

 

[Ozclone]

Anyone have personal experience with a Vivint system?

Just dumped them. Alarm monitoring was good but equipment service was horrible. Be careful what you are signing up for, they have 5 year, self-renewing contracts and you are obligated to pay the entire amount if you want to leave early. I installed a simplisafe system and it seems to work well. I like that I have control of configuring and adding features and will be able to repair/replace if there is an issue. $25/month is their highest monitoring cost which saves me enough to pay off the system in under 2 years. It also has integration with Google home which is handy but not essential.

 

[Gorm]

I've been using Simply Safe for several years now. I'm very happy with them. I do not however, have any camera doorbells or other cameras. Planning on installing a few of these when I do the siding on the house.

 

[AgronAlum]

Has anyone here ever caught anything on a home security system? I have a hard time forking out the money for one.

PS: No, I will not give out my address.

 

[bustamoveisu]

I heard Greg Stephens has some equipment he won't be using again.....

 

[baller21]

Has anyone here ever caught anything on a home security system? I have a hard time forking out the money for one.

PS: No, I will not give out my address.

You never know when a cougar will be prowling the neighborhood.

 

[tigershoops31]

Has anyone here ever caught anything on a home security system? I have a hard time forking out the money for one.

PS: No, I will not give out my address.

I have noticed in the years after installing security cameras out front that my Halloween note requesting that kids "please take 2 or 3" has been followed more closely, leading me to not have to come back 2-3 times to refill while walking my kids around the neighborhood. You can't put a pricetag on leftover Halloween candy.

 

[Rabbuk]

I feel like most of these systems require internet connections from my limited research.