When Your Buyer's New House Already Has an Alarm

The alarm questions that come up at closing

A few questions about the alarm come up on almost every sale of a house that has one:

• Where are the operating instructions?
• Who currently services or monitors the system?
• Who will arrange the buyer's setup?

If an alarm question comes up on a transaction, you're welcome to put us in touch, and we work through those questions with the new owner.

What an alarm system takeover looks like

An alarm system takeover means the new owner keeps the equipment that is already in the walls and puts it under their own name, codes and monitoring, instead of starting over. Here is how we handle it:

1. We come to the house by appointment and look at the panel, the keypads and the sensors on the doors and windows.
2. We tell the owner whether that equipment can be monitored, reused or should be upgraded. The answer depends on the panel, the sensors and the property. Some of it may stay and some may not, and we say which after we see it.
3. If it makes sense to keep it, we set it up for the new owner with their own user codes and monitoring. Where the equipment supports it, that includes the Alarm.com app on their phone.
4. If parts are worn out or too old, we explain the options and the owner decides what to replace.

This is an honest evaluation of that home, not a promise that every system can be monitored or kept.

A simple handoff for you

• One introduction: Send us the client's name, phone or email and the property, by phone, email or the partner form. That is the whole job on your side.
• We take it from there: Paul calls the client, sets the visit and handles the questions about the system.
• No closing drama: The visit happens at the house on the owner's schedule, after they have the keys.
• Works for sellers too: A seller who wants the alarm question answered before listing can have us look at the system first, so the answer is ready when a buyer asks.

Monitoring from a local, licensed company

When a buyer wants the system monitored, it is watched 24/7 by a professional central station. The company they call is local. Acoustical Vision was founded in 2009 and is based in Forest Park, and we hold Illinois Private Alarm Contractor license 124.002139. The same team can add cameras, a video doorbell, smart locks and keypad entry or a Control4 system for the TV and audio later on. Control4 and the Alarm.com security app run side by side and are never tied together, and lights and thermostats can go on either one.

For more on how a local licensed team compares with a national package, see Local vs National Home Security in Oak Park and Chicago's Western Suburbs.