Desert Song

Hi,

We currently have a terraced house as a holiday home near Seville which for the last 20 years has been great, we're considering moving to Spain permanently and so looking for a bigger house that's detached. With the squatter problem as it is, I'm concerned about security, when buying a house what is the most secure - middle of the street, avoid houses on corner plots, urbanisations or in a village? Obviously we'll be fitting an alarm and hope to have good double glazed windows with locks etc. Any help or pointers appreciated!!

Fred James

just make sure your alarm is connected to a central security company, with as many cameras as you can afford.

I use Securitas Direct. Prosegur is another good option.

astera

Security company as mentioned above. You NEED to know ASAP if something is amiss.

If you will be living in Spain permanently then the squatter problem won't be an issue.

fidobsa

Threads like this make me appreciate the peace of mind I get living in a place with pretty much zero crime! I only have one near neighbour but they never put stuff away. Their ride on mower, kids bikes etc. are left out in the garden all the time. I don't even have house or contents insurance! When I lived in Coventry the house got burgled 3 times in 5 years (1981 to 1986).

UKMS

On top of the security company recomendations, Ring cameras are a great option to quickly check on things on demand. You do need an active internet connection though.

Fred James

Vídeo doorbells that show any video outside of the perimeter boundaries are illegal in Spain.

Indoor cameras are OK. However, being able to watch the intruders trash the house is not overly useful. That’s why police connected alarms are so effective as a deterrent.

UKMS

Yep that’s exactly why I said Ring cameras and NOT doorbells and exactly why I said ON TOP of the security that had been suggested.

Aside of intruders Ring cameras are a great ‘peace of mind’ to keep an eye on a place as well as capturing footage of anything else that happens, if it’s a simple burglary rather than squatters they could be long gone by the time Police arrive from an alarm so some video footage could serve well. I wasn’t suggesting they were good for watching your house being trashed 😉