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The Water Cooler
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Home alarm companies ?
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<blockquote data-quote="BryanDP" data-source="post: 3938488" data-attributes="member: 1111"><p>Back in 2017 I inquired with the locally owned alarm company I had been with for like 25 years for $20/month at each of 3-5 home and commercial locations at any given time about upgrading my (then) two alarms to the newer technology where I could arm/disarm and monitor other aspects of my system from an app on my mobile phone. I guess the approximately $20K I had paid these guys just for monitoring (plus probably another $10K in alarm builds and service calls) over the years was enough for them. Their 2017 bid for my most complicated alarm system build was $2700 and then $59.95 per month monitoring forever. At that time I had three location to monitor so I was looking at $180/month which just seemed a bit ridiculous. I looked at some of the big alarm companies as well and their prices were similar.</p><p></p><p>The local alarm company made one huge mistake in their bidding: they listed out the equipment they would be using, which got me to thinking. I started looking up the equipment on Amazon and found that I could purchase everything they had included for around $1200. I found some YouTube videos and other resources and though it was (and remains) a pretty hefty learning curve I successfully took on installing professional grade Ademco/Honeywell alarm equipment at three locations I needed to monitor. </p><p></p><p>I did still need to go with a company to get my systems online with the app to arm/disarm and monitor alerts. There are several companies doing this DIY stuff but I went with Geoarm and a self-monitoring account for $13/month and they haven't raised rates in the 5 years I've now been with them. (NOTE: In addition to doing new system monitoring they do a lot of "alarm takeovers" to get you their cheaper rates but you are responsible for any contractual implications of this with your existing company.)</p><p></p><p>Self-monitoring means I get alerts through the app and via text and either respond myself or call the police myself once I've verified an actual break-in. With this arrangement I have not needed the annual city permit as police are responding to the owner's call for service (rather than an alarm company 3rd party) and there are no false alarms ever reported to the city. The company I went with does have a central monitoring station service that you can add on for $5 per month if you want someone else to respond to your alerts and call the police for you. (This would also require the hefty annual municipal alarm permit, where applicable.)</p><p></p><p>In the midst of this huge project and before committing to the complicated Ademco/Honeywell installs I did order and return a Simpli Safe system and one other similar DIY package. In comparison to the high end pro stuff I ended up using the equipment these companies sent was just cheap and not expandable enough to get the more complicated systems. Plus, the monthly monitoring was too expensive in my opinion. These days if someone wanted a system of this caliber I'd probably suggest building something up on the Ring or Wyze platform but I would still recommend a professional system like the companies use (i.e. Ademco/Honeywell.)</p><p></p><p>In the end I built nine of these alarms over a couple of years for my home, thorough coverage of a rural property/compound, some commercial locations and each of my parents' houses and my total monthly charge is $108. At one point I actually thought about getting into the alarm business, but the only real way to make a lot of money is by charging people $59.95/month for something that would cost me $13 which isn't something I can do to people. Plus, there is all sorts of licensing and state oversight in that business that absolutely didn't interest me. Instead I guess I'm a "DIY alarm consultant." I'm happy to answer a few questions for no charge. Once it gets to the "you need more than a few questions" stage I charge an hourly rate to consult either remotely or on site if necessary. To be clear, I do not and cannot do the work for other but am happy to help with everything from planning out the system to offering install tips to helping if someone gets stuck on programming.</p><p></p><p>Let me know if I can help!</p><p></p><p>Bryan</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BryanDP, post: 3938488, member: 1111"] Back in 2017 I inquired with the locally owned alarm company I had been with for like 25 years for $20/month at each of 3-5 home and commercial locations at any given time about upgrading my (then) two alarms to the newer technology where I could arm/disarm and monitor other aspects of my system from an app on my mobile phone. I guess the approximately $20K I had paid these guys just for monitoring (plus probably another $10K in alarm builds and service calls) over the years was enough for them. Their 2017 bid for my most complicated alarm system build was $2700 and then $59.95 per month monitoring forever. At that time I had three location to monitor so I was looking at $180/month which just seemed a bit ridiculous. I looked at some of the big alarm companies as well and their prices were similar. The local alarm company made one huge mistake in their bidding: they listed out the equipment they would be using, which got me to thinking. I started looking up the equipment on Amazon and found that I could purchase everything they had included for around $1200. I found some YouTube videos and other resources and though it was (and remains) a pretty hefty learning curve I successfully took on installing professional grade Ademco/Honeywell alarm equipment at three locations I needed to monitor. I did still need to go with a company to get my systems online with the app to arm/disarm and monitor alerts. There are several companies doing this DIY stuff but I went with Geoarm and a self-monitoring account for $13/month and they haven't raised rates in the 5 years I've now been with them. (NOTE: In addition to doing new system monitoring they do a lot of "alarm takeovers" to get you their cheaper rates but you are responsible for any contractual implications of this with your existing company.) Self-monitoring means I get alerts through the app and via text and either respond myself or call the police myself once I've verified an actual break-in. With this arrangement I have not needed the annual city permit as police are responding to the owner's call for service (rather than an alarm company 3rd party) and there are no false alarms ever reported to the city. The company I went with does have a central monitoring station service that you can add on for $5 per month if you want someone else to respond to your alerts and call the police for you. (This would also require the hefty annual municipal alarm permit, where applicable.) In the midst of this huge project and before committing to the complicated Ademco/Honeywell installs I did order and return a Simpli Safe system and one other similar DIY package. In comparison to the high end pro stuff I ended up using the equipment these companies sent was just cheap and not expandable enough to get the more complicated systems. Plus, the monthly monitoring was too expensive in my opinion. These days if someone wanted a system of this caliber I'd probably suggest building something up on the Ring or Wyze platform but I would still recommend a professional system like the companies use (i.e. Ademco/Honeywell.) In the end I built nine of these alarms over a couple of years for my home, thorough coverage of a rural property/compound, some commercial locations and each of my parents' houses and my total monthly charge is $108. At one point I actually thought about getting into the alarm business, but the only real way to make a lot of money is by charging people $59.95/month for something that would cost me $13 which isn't something I can do to people. Plus, there is all sorts of licensing and state oversight in that business that absolutely didn't interest me. Instead I guess I'm a "DIY alarm consultant." I'm happy to answer a few questions for no charge. Once it gets to the "you need more than a few questions" stage I charge an hourly rate to consult either remotely or on site if necessary. To be clear, I do not and cannot do the work for other but am happy to help with everything from planning out the system to offering install tips to helping if someone gets stuck on programming. Let me know if I can help! Bryan [/QUOTE]
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