One Step Forward Two Steps Back

Dad is right. The best thing you can do is make yourself less of a target than your neighbors. People up to no good will always take the path of least resistance.

If your home is well lit and your neighbor's is not they will go after your neighbor. Same for dogs, alarms, any security measure. Heck even the alarm stickers without an alarm will cause them to pass you by.

Before you called the insurance company you should have had your kids "accidentally" smash the window with a skateboard from the inside, then it would have been covered. :p

So far as the car goes that is the risk you take when you only have liability insurance. You may want to switch to better coverage in the future.

Lights.

Lights are proven as one of the greatest deterents of crime - ever. Criminals like to act in the dark, where they have less chance of being seen. A little light, and statistically your house becomes the last one on the block that bad people want to approach - whether you're home or not, asleep or not.

Turn on the porch light every night - cost about $2 per month (based on MY electric costs)

Outdoor motion sensor light - cost about $20 at the hardware store.

Indoor light timer - cost $3 at the hardware store.

Leaving on an indoor lamp - $2/month (based on MY electric costs)

What Dawn and Dad on purpose said. Lights and a neighborhood watch. I didn't know Lansing was so bad. Yikes.

I'm an insurance agent in AZ. Your car would only be covered if you had comp on your insurance that covers theft. If you didn't pay for it, it isn't covered. People don't like paying for insurance but when something happens they sure wish they had it. As far as the window goes, you would have to pay your deductible first if you were going to try to file a claim, so it would likely not be worth it for a claim on your homeowners policy. Sorry you are going thru this. Good luck!

Your auto insurance should cover for the theft of your vehicle.

Lights are important too.

As for the BB'd window you have to figure out how to get it fixed or replaced yourself. I love the idea of inquiriing at Habitat. They may be equipped to help you.

Being a homeowner comes with so much more responsibility. Enjoy your new home and get an alarm or the Club for your next vehicle. The police may still find your vehicle or not but your auto insurance company will be most helpful with your car issues.

You don't have auto insurance that covers theft? I don't understand that.

Call the Habitat people about the window. Ask them if they have some kind soul who would replace your window for you.

If you have gotten to know some neighbors, (the ones who don't steal cars and shoot off bb guns), ask them what they would think about establishing a Neighborhood Watch. Call the police (not 911) and ask for someone to come out and have a meeting about it. Sometimes just the act of having one can deter crime.

Dawn

Your neighborhood sounds pretty bad. Stealing a car is a pretty aggressive crime. I personally would move. A nice house does you no good if your child gets shot or all your nice things are stolen. Safety and piece of mind are worth paying more somewhere else. Good luck.

WOW!! I'm sorry. This truly sucks.

Your auto insurance should take care of your vehicle theft.

I would talk to a company about payment plans for the window to get it replaced and talk with an insurance agent about changing the insurance on the home and what it covers.

To make the neighborhood better? I would recommend starting a neighborhood watch program. Call your local police station non-emergency number and tell them what you want to do - then get fliers out to the neighbors and set a date for the meeting and get the ball rolling on a neighborhood watch.

I would also make sure that I have motion sensor or just lights on outside the home. Brightly lit areas deter most burglaries as they do NOT want to be seen....

On your car? On the next one? get an alarm on it or pull the plugs if you can't afford an alarm so that they can't hot wire it. No, it's not fun - but if they can't start it - they won't take it. I know people who have used the Car Club for the steering wheel as well.

Get that neighborhood watch program together!! Keep stepping forward!!

What it comes down to what is best for the kids. Are your kids safe in their own house and back yard? Remember the best house in a bad neighbor hood will be pillaged for goodies all the time.

You would have to secure your property until you are able to find something in a better area.

Car- you will need to put an alarm on your car and purchase a car club.
Home- Do you have security doors? You may have to obtain security windows as well. Does the outside front & back have good lighting?
I would also suggest eventually purchasing a home security camera.

What CAN you do? You can either pay for the things that are not insured and continue doing so, or you can move. If what you're going through is the price you have to pay for owning a home rather than renting, I would not have chosen that way myself, but you did. I hope that you've called the police about both incidents.