Courtesy of National Land Realty

When you invest in a property, you don’t want to be worried about trespassing or theft.  It doesn’t happen too often, but if it does, you want to make sure you’re prepared and have done everything you can to prevent it from happening again. Coming up with a plan to protect your property and prevent trespassing even when you’re not always present on your property will save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Here are some things you can do to protect your property from trespassers:

1. Put Up New Signs

This may seem like a common-sense thing to do, but it’s the easiest and cheapest task to add to your plan. Putting up new “no-trespassing” signs will show people that you are alert and frequent your property often. Rules for putting up signs on your property vary from state to state. So, make sure to check with your local land authorities on how to set them up correctly.

2. Get to Know Your Neighbors

This one’s important. If you’re the new owner of your property, you’ll want to meet the owners of the land next to yours. Even if you’ve owned your property for several years already, it’s still wise to introduce yourself to the neighbors. Friendly neighbors are sure to keep an eye out and let you know if they see something suspicious.

3. Conduct Regular Inspections

Be sure to set up a regular schedule of times throughout the year to walk your land. Go through your property each time, tracing boundary lines and make notes of any significant changes or anything specific you want to remember. Later, you can look back on your notes if you ever see something that looks a bit off. This can help you determine if someone has possibly been trespassing on your property.

4. Limit Access Points

Having a “one road in and one road out” system will limit the amount of access points for trespassers to make their way in. Having a gate with a lock at the entrance also helps with this.

These are just a few simple and quick things you can do that will help protect your property from trespassers. By doing these four steps, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll never have any trespassing problems, but it does mean that you’re prepared, and potential trespassers will certainly see that!

About the Author: National Land Realty is a full-service real estate brokerage company specializing in farm, ranch, plantation, timber and recreational land across the country. NLR currently represents land buyers and sellers in 20 states.