On Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:16:56 -0700 (PDT), camryguy
wrote:

On Apr 20, 2:25*pm, Evan wrote:
On Apr 19, 11:43*pm, camryguy wrote:



Hello again, This group has answered my questions before and I am sure
it will again. This one is for my father however. In 1997, he built a
house about 15 mins from where he is currently living. However, the
house has still never been completed. No one has ever lived in it and
has yet to have had the experience of being enjoyed. This may sound
odd, which it is, but when money gets tight and the effort to continue
becomes sparse, you get what I would call an abandoned house. Now to
the point. Earlier this afternoon, I took a drive up to the house just
to check up on the place and enjoy the day by the beach. As I
approached the house, I noticed that all of the temporary window
coverings that were in the windows had been removed. Thinking it was
my father, I continued into the house without a second thought. I
opened the door and walked into a war zone. Furniture had been tipped
over, and damaged, boxes had been rummaged through, drawers were open,
piles of wood were scattered everywhere, etc. I couldn't believe my
eyes. The house, although not yet finished is stuffed full of
furniture and boxes from 2 grandparents houses who have died.
Everything was either touched, damaged or broken. They even had a dog
with them, which left us a little present in the master bedroom. I
know i'm going to get put through the ringer from people here saying
that I should be there more often, etc etc, but with work and other
commitments it honestly gets forgotten. The house does have a working
motion senor light over the basement door, deadbolt locks on every
single door, security tabs on every window which are activated and a
large street light purposely installed right in front of the house. I
have yet to discover a point of entry or a sign of how they are
getting access to the house. No door was forced, no window broken,
nothing. How hard is it to pick a lock? These locks are all Weisers
and are all keyed so that each lock has a specific key, but then there
is also a master which will open every door. The same thing happened
last summer, minus the damage and that was when all the locks were
installed.

Now finally my question. Does anyone know of any security camera that
will only take videos if movement is detected? and if so, how do I get
this set up so that it is wireless. I don't want to be pulling wires
through this house. I also want a recorder to record any anything the
camera may catch. Anyone know of anything that may help that is also
budget friendly. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Anyone wishing
to comment negatively, can save it for another thread. Thanks in
advance

What aspects of the house are not completed... *Built it in 1997 but
"never finished"... *Sounds to me like you have a permitting issue...
You can't "use" a house for any purposes until you have had your
final inspection and a certificate of occupancy issued...

You have power to the property... *Why not get a phone line and
install an alarm system... *Last summer should have been a
warning sign -- you should have properly secured the property at
that time and not waited for an escalation like this...

I assume you found one or more doors unlocked when you entered
and found the mess... *Someone may have inadvertently left one
of the multitude of doors unlocked... *If all the doors were locked
then the raiding party did not enter through a door as they would
not have taken the time to lock the door when they left and would
have left it unlocked to facilitate easier entry the next time they
decided to "visit"...

As far as abandoned properties go, there are many many ways
in which to gain entry that don't involve playing with the doors...
If you are not going to monitor the property with proper frequency
or install an alarm, I would securely board it up and treat it like
legitimately abandoned property... *If you are not certain how to
do this correctly inquire with your local fire department, they will
have information on how to do this adequately in a standardized
way which will not impede access too much in a fire that public
safety employees are familiar with and know how to dismantle...

~~ Evan

There is no permitting issue. The house simply wasn't completed
because of financial issues. As I said, no one has ever lived in the
house. All permits are still open and the final inspection has yet to
conclude. AS for not done, the house is water tight and sealed. All
doors and windows are installed, roof tight and exterior completed. It
has been wired, plumbed, and dry walled, but the floors aren't
installed and all bathrooms and the kitchen are not finished. My guess
to point of entry is the basement door. I was at the house again
today, and all windows were locked and shut, and all doors were
locked. I checked the locks for any tampering or scratches on them and
the only one with any significant wear was the basement door. The rest
were untouched. AS for boarding up the windows, I don't think that my
father will go for it. The house has a brick exterior and any nails or
screws would damage the bricks or mortar holding them together. One
more thing, when I found the house yesterday, all of the doors were
locked. Not one single one was left open, weird? I say yes.

Another post mentioned "bump" keys. Recently, there are stories of
people moving into vacant foreclosed homes, take up occupancy and go
some time before being discovered.

What does your insurance company say?