Break-ins whilst not in residence/holiday homes

One of my fears in Spanish property ownership but only part-time residence is the crime factor. Reading of burglaries on here does little to quash these concerns. So a few questions if I may.

(i) Any recommended insurers who cover overseas property likely to be left for periods in excess of 60 days whose claims system is a straight-forward process?

(2) For those who have been in the unfortunate position of being notified of a break-in whilst absent from the property, what steps have you taken to secure the property in your absence and how have you even learnt of the break-in?

Security from afar is a point of concern for me.

Don't beat yourself up on this . . Whilst it does happen, as it does in UK. . Its not as prevalent as it seems . . Being remote it feels worrying and looking on social media and here it can appear to be happening a lot but to be realistic most breakins etc. are opportunistic and focus on small valuables and cash which are there if people are in residence not away . . Vigilance whilst here is paramount

Babu wrote:Don't beat yourself up on this . . Whilst it does happen, as it does in UK. . Its not as prevalent as it seems . . Being remote it feels worrying and looking on social media and here it can appear to be happening a lot but to be realistic most breakins etc. are opportunistic and focus on small valuables and cash which are there if people are in residence not away . . Vigilance whilst here is paramount

The fact that we see the break-ins posted on forums like this makes people think it's prevalent, but it really distorts it out of all proportion.

As stated above it is important to be vigilant and aware that it can happen anywhere but I agree with the above, that these thieves, in Spain, mostly want 'easy pickings' where they guess there will be cash and/or small valuables, which are not generally found in holiday home type properties.

Our fairly new Holiday Home was broken into while we were in the U,K. They took out the locks on the Door Grill and the Front Door. The Front Door only had a basic lock. The Administrators got in touch advising us it had happeneed but no details. We went there fairly soon after that as we didn't know what to expect. We were lucky as they were only after bits they could sell quickly and were very tidy. Our neighbour also was Burgled.
We had to go to the Guardia to fill in a Denouncia. Were given a Reference No. We then contacted the Insurance Co. It apparently is the usual practice. The locks were replaced by the Administrators who have Insurance on every Community they deal with. That's why good Administrators are important.
We fitted a Front Door with multi bolts after that.

I agree with Babu. Reading about break ins on here can be helpful but make them seem more common than they really are. We had our shed broken into this summer while away, but it was more opportunistic than anything else, frankly looking at it objectively we had a very low wall by the road that was easy to hop over to access the shed. And they didn't break the padlock, found a weakness in the wood to pull the whole thing away ( so they weren't even equipped with tools...). We now have better security, have a bigger wall... The insurance company were very fair ( needed all the police reports and also a chap had to come out and take pics ) but I was very happy with how they handled it all. And they settled quick with a fair offer. Insured as a holiday home, absences accepted. Not the cheapest insurance as it was through the bank ( LA caixa) but am sticking with them as they handled the claim so fairly. I only knew of the break in from my neighbour noticing and that was a couple of weeks after it happened. I think if you are away for long periods it is wise to have a keyholder checking the place for you, in case of other issues too eg if you had a leak or suchlike. Otherwise, have reasonable security like leaving a place anywhere, this can happen anywhere and then forget about it. I think you need to accept that if you leave a property empty for long periods of time in any country,there's always a risk but this quesada area is no better or worse than anywhere else.

I will say though that the Guardia were BETTER than any experiences I have had with UK police. They actually recovered some of the stolen items, arrested a culprit and last heard of he was off to Court... And the Guardia were utterly charming to me.

PGA wrote:One of my fears in Spanish property ownership but only part-time residence is the crime factor. Reading of burglaries on here does little to quash these concerns. So a few questions if I may.

(i) Any recommended insurers who cover overseas property likely to be left for periods in excess of 60 days whose claims system is a straight-forward process?

(2) For those who have been in the unfortunate position of being notified of a break-in whilst absent from the property, what steps have you taken to secure the property in your absence and how have you even learnt of the break-in?

Security from afar is a point of concern for me.

(1) make sure that the insurance is holiday home insurance and check the policy documents and T&Cs carefully. These are based in the UK....
https://www.intasure.com/uk/index.asp?introducer=200009
https://www.staysure.co.uk/holiday-home ... nce/spain/
and these are local.....http://www.jennifercunningham.net/holid ... nce-spain/
There are many others.
Just don't forget to turn off & drain your water when away for a while!


(2) Not had a break-in ourselves. However, we have permanent internet connection and 4 IP cameras with motion detection that alarm direct to our mobile phones & cloud storage. The entrance to our apartment is via 2 iron security gates and a hardwood door with a security lock. All the windows/patio doors have security locks (which are used), vulnerable windows also have security bars.
Most important of all is that we have really good Spanish & British neighbours that keep an eye out for us when we're away.

Location is also important, I wouldn't want an isolated holiday home in the campo. We've seen so many properties not just burgled but stripped of all fixtures & fittings....including the windows!

Crime in Spain, like anywhere, is preventable you just need to take sensible precautions.

Having spent the last 8 years investigating burglaries in the UK I believe that burglaries arent as prevelant as people think. Here it appears to be even less so.

I have dogs they bark. The average criminal will go where dogs arent. I habe replaced my door locks with anti bump anti pick and anti snap locks. These are the latest UK techniques beingbused in the UK because they are quiet. Ive seen them for sale in Leroy Merlin.

Make your house not worth it and they will go elsewhere.

Yes, crime is not that prevalent over here..and they mainly want money and jewellery so empty houses are not much of a target for them.

It does help if you have a key holder, maybe a company or even a neighbour with a set of keys and a letter from you giving them permission to enter your property in an emergency. It can be so useful if a window is broken, or in case of flood...or any number of things...

BUT.. remember to give them permission in writing to enter your property in emergencies--- it is important.
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I know you can have burglar alarms fitted that show you the interior of your house in real time... but it won´t help if you are 1,000 miles away and see a break in and have no way of the police getting in your house..

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Thanks all, and particularly Shiva and Jan Jan for sharing the experience having suffered an issue.

I appreciate break-ins happen worldwide, however this is the first time I would own somewhere that I don't live in and such a distance away, It's not just the concern of being broken into, but also the aftermath in that what actions take place in the interim in terms of being made away of the break-in, what steps can be taken from afar to secure the property etc etc. I am familiar with them in the UK and can call on a friends and family network in addition, but such options are unlikely to be available in Spain, at least at first. Whilst I hadn't seen much point in a key holder unless I were to rent the property, perhaps it might be worthwhile for only peace of mind.

Security wise I would put in internal wifi cameras but they only really give peace of mind that all is well and are of course not preventative of issues. As per standard advice I would swap out locks on purchase and fit the most secure possible and a mix of rejas, shutters etc.

Thanks for the insurance recommendations - most helpful. As for neighbours, well that is a bit of a lottery really and can change with time. I am not looking too remotely so certainly there should be a few locals around at any one time and the more permanent parts of town are where I would aim to be in any event for "life" but an added bonus is a nod to additional security.

Many thanks all.

I agree with all of the above. I would just add Security lights which come on when someone approaches. We also installed double glazing with strengthened glass to make it harder for a prospective burglar to get in and we replaced the front door with one with good locks. I strongly recommend a good key holder too, someone who looks at your property regularly and is confident to deal with the police and your insurance company.