formica Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I feel a little frustrated tonight... After having a long day and tough night... (a 1hr drive to a meeting this evening which I discovered was cancelled when I got there)... I finally come home and discover someone broke into my house. A pure act of selfishness. The upside to it, is they seem to have run away when the alarm system went off. There is the obvious damage to the door, frame, and surrounding wall where they pried their way in... so I suppose we should count ourselves lucky. As far as we could tell, nothing was taken but or sense of security. Although my most valuable items are way to large to carry off, we all have more than our share of pocket fillers and easily damaged equipment. Yet, I don't feel so lucky... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I am sorry to hear about this. It's also happened to me, so I know what a terrible feeling it is. Violated is an understatement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 I'm sure we all have worried about this . It doesn't seem so much as a violation , but an actual physical attack on yourself ! I have felt ; Gulp... when I have entertained this thought ; that most likely the theives would probably just destroy the items because they were to heavy and awkward to move . This is all dependant on the time constraints they have . I have good neighbors on both sides that , in all likelyhood , would inform the authorities if they saw a panel van or something loading up with my stuff . I Have !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 formica: I'm really sorry to hear about your misfotune. At least no one was physically hurt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Violation is the correct word. When my house was broken into a few years back, they managed to get some small items, but were in the house long enough to have gone through every drawer in the place. Fortunately they didn't take anything of real value and weren't destructive. Still....just knowing that someone has look at your most personal items....(shiver).....still gives me the creeps. Sorry to hear about it Formica. The upside is that they now know you have an alarm system so you can be assured they won't be back. If you didn't have an alarm, the odds would be pretty high that they'd try to hit you again. That's the scary part. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 That's a really crappy thing. Glad you've mentioned it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 That really sucks! I feel for you! It is unfortunate, but it seems that we are all going to be subject to such indignities sooner or later. All I can say is don't let it get you down. Just pick up the pieces and move on with your life. I know, easy for me to say. It wasn't my place they broke into this time. But I have been there myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 The miserable RAT BASTARDS! Luckily, you had an alarm system. Too bad you incurred some damage. But all in all, you seem to have come out quite well. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 10, 2005 Author Share Posted August 10, 2005 Thanks for the support guys... I guess it's one of those inevitable things we got to live with. The thing is most of us aren't really prepared for when it does happen. For example, it has gotten me thinking about cataloguing some of the stuff I have. Having a detailed list and pictures of some of the potentially riskier stuff makes it easier to see what's missing and claim the item. I also noticed when I pulled out my insurance policy... it makes exception to several specific items like music and movie collections (like CDs and DVDs). I have a ton of CDs... and I've known several people who've had their (smaller) collections taken in burglaries. I'll have to see how much adding them in would cost. It could have been sooo much worse. I'll have to see if it'll be worth claiming the damages or not... Rob PS: Alarm systems do work... but like the police mentioned, usually burglars go in anyways but take fewer things quickly. I got lucky there too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 go through the house one drawer, one shelf at a time with a video camera, noting items of particular interest or value. Then put the tape IN YOUR SAFE BOX AT THE BANK. Good for insurance against theft, fire, etc. I really need to do this. Been here a year already... Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted August 10, 2005 Share Posted August 10, 2005 Sorry to hear about this but you were lucky. I've been lucky and have never been broken into as far as I know... (knock knock on the table) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbsl Posted August 11, 2005 Share Posted August 11, 2005 Sorry to hear about that!! I had my alpine car stereo stolen back in college so it does suck having it happen. I took a picture of all my receits for my stereo gear and then took a pic of each one and put them on a CD I keep in my file cabinet. But I need to update it and I should look into a alarm system for my house since it seems to have worked for you. I know insurance companies usually will take around 10% off if you get one. Xman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch Employees Trey Cannon Posted August 12, 2005 Klipsch Employees Share Posted August 12, 2005 I also had this happen to me...they took my Sr. ring , a candle holder that looked like a dragon and a pr of Tina Turner 10th row tickets (opening was Mister Mister). They left the Heresys and gear, they even left all the LP's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 thank goodness big ole horns are too heavy to steal quickly! mmm, maybe they should be coupled to the floor with bolts.... might improve the sound quality and the theft ratio! (I often leave the TV or radio on when away for long periods) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 The cannon went off and said, "They left the Heresys and gear, they even left all the LP's." Just goes to show those guys have good taste in audio leaving that stuff. LOL... Mr. Colter makes a very excellent suggestion in video taping. Pictures are good too. Bear in mind that photographic evidence isn't just for theft, but also in the event of a natural disaster or fire. Let's face it, after a theft or fire or tornadoe or whatever; mentally, one is in no shape to remember everything. Personally, I do two things: a) Video tape everything in the house and Use the home inventory feature in Quicken. The home inventory thing allows me to calulate just how much insurance I need to cover contents. And not to hi-jack this thread in order to sell a product....but I was wondering if you guys would be interested in a home security device I'm working on. Basically my system detects when a door or window has been breached and then sets off a small plastic explosive charge encased in the door/window frame. Thus blowing the mudderfudder perp to smithereens!! Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Tom's got a great idea ! Allthough booby traping your home or property in such a way is illegal , in the US anyway . " I may be serving 20 years , but I got those stinking perps " . Claymores are Cool ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 That definaterly sucks... I had some peeps rifle through my car this summer, made a mess but did not take anything. Like you, I felt angry that I was violated. In your case, I would suggest making the repairs out of pocket, rather than a claim against your insurance, as your rate will go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 12, 2005 Share Posted August 12, 2005 Regarding insurance... If you can cover the cost of damages yourself, you might consider doing that. Don't even report the loss to your insurance company. A claim, or even a report, may affect your rates, make it more likely you will be cancelled now or in the future, and/or make it harder or more expensive to get a new policy. Insurance companies share this information. I know we all have the desire to get our money's worth out of whatever we buy, but in this case it might be counterproductive. You might want to defer making a claim against your policy until you really need it. Better to take a hit once now than over and over again every year. I am glad you read your policy. As you learned, there are many things that are excluded from coverage or that have limited coverage. Just about all of these things can be covered by a rider, at extra cost. If you have something you really care about that is not covered, you might want to talk to your agent. As has been mentioned previously, it would be good to make a photographic or video inventory of the contents of your house. An insurance company isn't going to pay for your CDs if you just say you had a ton of CDs. Do you still have all the receipts? If not, you are going to have to provide some other kind of proof you actually had them. Do you have replacement value insurance on the contents? If not, all you are going to get is the depreciated value. And the insurance company's idea of depreciated value is likely to be a lot less than yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 16, 2005 Author Share Posted August 16, 2005 Thanks for the advice Malcolm... I'll have to reread my policy again. It's amazing how many of us pay good money for insurance every year, but NEVER read what we are paying for. I don't. BTW, I talked to my broker... and asked them for advice and info. They are an independent broker I know well, so no official report or anything. Having not made any claims (car or home) on record (substantially more than 6yrs) and I have a good rating... so the claim would cost me between 10% to 15% increase for the next 6yrs. I did get / calculate an estimate for the repairs... and the work would still cost me more than the increase combined with the deductible. The catch is if ever I have a second claim in those years, the increase would be substantially more as well as affect my "rating". Right now, I'm leaning to absorb the costs and do the work myself. I also asked my broker for the addition cost of insuring my music collection... and I should get some feedback soon. It's annoying not being able to use my side door which has been barricaded... but my alarm is fully functional. Every time I leave / come home, I find myself triple checking my openings to make sure everything is ok. Thanks for the support... Rob PS: "they took ... a pr of Tina Turner 10th row tickets (opening was Mister Mister)." I think they were punished enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockets Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 I have so many damn projects going at once now, but one is always on the back burner and that's to install a system similar to these. It's not going to stop the local crackhead, but hopefully will let you see who's head it is you need to crack... http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Camera-Motion-Activated-Security-System-VCR-Control_W0QQitemZ5993736181QQcategoryZ66738QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem if the link doesn't work it's item number: 5993736181 on ePay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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