Break in, how to prevent, what you do when it happens.

[Gabe G.]

I have a home in c to c- neighborhood in indy. Due to the tenant moving out early, and the new one, not moving in until june 1st. There was about a 2 month gap. So i turned off the water and locked the doors.  Unfortunately, About a month into this(this past week) I found a window broken out, and the garage door operator stolen(nothing else as far as I can tell).

Questions:

What practices do you guys use to make this less likely from happening?

and

Do you file a police report, if you have no intention of turning it into insurance and value is not that much? Obviously, I am sure there is fingerprints/dna from whoever did it. But my guess is the police aren't going to go that far on this type of investigation. 

Any advice?

Thank you

[Matt Geerts]

@Gabe G. I understand the frustration because my buddy's car window was just smashed for a pair of pants and shoes. $180 for a new window and he had to wait 5 days because of all of recent smashes keeping the window guy busy. The loser could have just asked for pants and shoes.

For your current situation - report to the police, forget about insurance, replace the window and whatever else and install some REAL cameras. Cameras are so cheap these days you'd be a little silly putting in fakes.

For next time - why would you rent to someone who can't move in for two months? Keep marketing hard and get a tenant in NOW. You should have had some lead-time for showings before they even moved out, the goal is 0 days vacancy. Even a 10% decrease in rent is better than 2 vacant months.