Moving off campus is an exciting time in life. While living on campus by yourself was an adventure you spent months looking forward to, there are certain freedoms that off-campus life can offer that you know that you’re ready for. It’s time to finally rent your own place!

Your roommates are in order and you know you have the money ready, so you’re ready to move in. However, there’s still one more thing you need to consider before settling down.

Is your apartment actually safe for you to live in? Don’t make the mistake of trusting that your landlord has checked every lock and bolt in the place before you moved in.

Check out some easy things you can do to make sure that your first off-campus apartment is safe for both you and your roommates. Putting the extra effort in now will save you countless nights of sleep in the future, plus any potential break-ins or robberies.

1. Know whether your neighborhood is safe (or not)

You may think that the areas right around college campuses are safe because the school knows that’s where many of their students live, but in some areas, it’s the opposite.

Anyone who has the intent to steal someone else’s things knows that college kids don’t have the greatest track record with personal safety or keeping their expensive belongings secure. They’ll target students on the biggest party nights and no one will ever see them coming.

If at all possible before you sign your new lease, look up your potential new neighborhood and see if it’s been reviewed as a good or bad place to live. There are lots of websites that will tell you what cities are safe so you don’t have to hope for the best and move in.

2. Make your front door more secure

Turning the lock at night might not be enough to keep you safe from robbers since 34% enter through the front door.

Once you’ve moved into your new place, check that the bolts on the door hinges are longer than an inch. If they’re not, replace them with longer screws, as well as the ones holding the lock in place. Longer screws will make it harder for someone to kick in your door.

You can also ask your landlord if you’re allowed to install a deadbolt if you don’t already have one. Most apartments do, but it can’t hurt to ask if you move into a place that’s a bit older.

3. Look into an alarm system

When people think of an alarm system, they mostly picture images of houses with high security and a small sign in their front yard advertising what alarm system protects their house.

You don’t need to live in a house to have an alarm because now they’re also made for apartments. Check out some alarm systems that are great for renters and see if that helps you get more comfortable in your new home.

4. Always have renters insurance

In recent years, more and more landlords have made it a requirement to have renters insurance when you sign your lease.

It’s almost impossible to find a place that doesn’t check for it, but you may still be able to find one. If that’s the case, call local insurance companies to get quotes on renter’s insurance or search for them online.

You’ll be able to find a price that works for your financial situation that’ll help protect or replace anything that might be stolen while you’re away.

5. Make friends with your neighbors

If you ever think there’s a possibility that you may find yourself needing help when your apartment’s security has been compromised, you’re going to need friends.

The friends you have now will be sure to help you, but do they have a place you can sleep at while your locks get replaced? Will they help you work damages out with your landlord? Make friends with the neighbors in your apartment complex so you have trusted people standing by ready to help you should you ever need it.

6. Schedule a re-keying

Re-keying is what happens when you move out of a place or your roommate loses the key to the front door. If things go right, you won’t ever have to re-key your apartment, but life doesn’t always go the way that it should. Especially if you live with roommates, you should talk to your landlord about scheduling a re-keying.

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Decide a length of time that works best for you and then talk with your roommates to get their thoughts on the situation. Every one should find a time of year that works best for them, and then you can have some peace knowing that you’ll have proactive security measures taken at the time intervals that you and your roommates agreed upon.

Living off-campus for the first time can really make you feel like you’re finally out of high school. There’s no RA checking up on you to see if you’re following the rules and no front desk to potentially lock you out of where you live if you accidentally forget the key you need to swipe into the building.

There’s plenty of perks about living in an apartment off campus, but there are also some downsides that every potential renter should consider.

No matter who you’re living with or where you’ll be, you should make sure you take action to secure your apartment as soon as you can. You can decide things like when you’ll change the locks but you won’t know when something bad may happen. Check on the bolts on your doors and research the different alarm systems available to renters.

In the end, you’ll find something that works for you and helps you more easily adjust to your new home without any fears about what could potentially happen.

Moving into a new place should be a time of celebration, not tragedy, so read up on as many home security tips as you can to make your first off-campus apartment your best living space yet.