I just made one of the most satisfying calls of my life yesterday. I called ADT (our old security monitoring company) and told them to pack sand. I have paid to have a monitored alarm system for close to ten years. I figure by conservative estimates at $30 a month, that comes out to $3,600. Needless to say, that kind of money could buy one heck of a system.
It would be one thing if I felt I was getting anything for the money spent. Over time, I have been less and less satisfied with ADT and didn't even feel that they were doing anything. It was a false sense of security. I only kept them because of my homeowners policy discount. Well, the last straw was them raising my bill, again, for a rent-a-cop company to respond to alarm events.
I spent hours researching and comparing DIY systems and finally decided on Fortress. It is a wireless system that will call up to 6 phone numbers if your alarm is triggered. You can also integrate additional features like window break sensors, flood sensors, CO2 and fire alarms, etc.
The last thing I did was order a 4 camera wireless security camera with a 500 gig DVR. It can be monitored from a smart phone remotely and has IR to record at night.
The way I see it, my system is monitored way better than it was before because the response time (neighbors will be called if Heather and I don't pick up the call) will be way faster, plus I get better features and better security. The best thing of all is saying goodbye to that ridiculous and practically worthless monthly fee to ADT. Now, to find a way to ditch cable...
