Buying house that has Slomins alarm - should I keep?
stoverny
I'm purchasing a house that has a Slomin's alarm system already
installed. I have heard some very bad things about this company so I
am debating whether to keep the service or not.
As I understand it, there is a termination fee should I decide to
keep the alarm, but then later on discontinue it before the term is
up. Does anyone know how much this fee is? Also, I have pets (the
sellers had no pets), and am worried about the motion detector
constantly going off - is there anything I can do to remedy this
without calling Slomins and paying for a service visit?
Should I decide not to continue the service, will Slomins come to
the house and remove the entire system? Or do I have the option of
keeping the system, but hiring another company for service and
monitoring? I've tried asking these questions to Slomins, but they
were very unhelpful on the phone, which does not give me much
confidence in their service.
Thanks in advance, Dennis
Robert L Bass
the reality of it. If you bought the house without signing a lease on the
system and they did not file a lien prior to the sale of the home, they haven't
a prayer of *forcing* you to pay them or to let them remove it. Their agreement
was with the previous owner and it's not binding on you. Nobody in this
business files liens to protect leased residential systems.
BTW, most residential systems are sold outright or sold over time through a
lease-monitor-sale agreement. A used system itself rarely has as much worth to
the alarm company as the labor cost to remove it. They leave it there even when
they know the house is being sold, figuring there's a fair probability that the
new owner will sign up for monitoring.
As to the pets, they may cause problems if the motion detectors are not the
newer "pet resistant" type. If you like, power the system down (in case there's
a tamper circuit) and open the motion detector covers. Let me know the make and
model and I can tell you if it's at least one of the better ones. Detector
placement is half the problem with avoiding false alarms, so even if they are
good ones, you could conceivably have an occasional false alarm. It depends on
how well the tech did his job as much as on the quality of the detector.
Speaking of workmanship, although I've heard some noise about quality and
service issues, I have no direct experience with Slomin's. As such, I don't
want you to take any generalized comments about these things as confirmation
that they are good, bad or whatever. They could as easily be saints or devils.
If the alarm is locked via a programming access code (many are), you won't be
able to make changes without Slomin's co-operation. If that turns out to be the
case, you could probably just swap the master control panel or, with models such
as Napco Gemini, replace the EEPROM chip. It's not that expensive either way.
If you're concerned about Slomin's performance you can hire another firm and
there's almost nothing practical that Slomin's can do about it. You could also
take over the system yourself, swap the panel and hire a monitoring company of
your choice. There are a growing number of nation-wide central stations that
will accept monitoring accounts with do-it-yourselfers.
Disclosure: On that last point I am probably somewhat biased since I own a
company that sells to DIY'rs and provides monitoring for them.
(Please note my new e-mail address below)
Regards,
Robert L Bass
=============================>
Bass Home Electronics
The Online DIY Alarm Store
http://www.Bass-Home.com
2291 Pine View Circle
Sarasota, FL 34231
877-722-8900
rober...@comcast.net
=============================>
"stoverny" <d_sc...@mail.com> wrote in message
news:5e6c8c59.0203...@posting.google.com...
: Hi all,
Alarminex
(stoverny) writes:
>Subject: Buying house that has Slomins alarm - should I keep?
>From: d_sc...@mail.com (stoverny)
>Date: 5 Mar 2002 14:40:50 -0800
>
>Hi all,
>
> I'm purchasing a house that has a Slomin's alarm system already
>installed. I have heard some very bad things about this company so I
>am debating whether to keep the service or not.
Hi Dennis.
Your last sentence should answer your question for you.
>
> As I understand it, there is a termination fee should I decide to
>keep the alarm, but then later on discontinue it before the term is
>up. Does anyone know how much this fee is?
There is no one who can answer your question accurately because no one knows
what the contractual agreement was between the previous owners and Slomins.
If the previous owners fulfilled their original contract then the equipment
likely belonged to them. If they didn't fulfill it, then likely Slomins could
leagally claim it was theirs. If your system is one of their typical "state of
the art" systems, consisting of 2 or 3 doors and a motion detector, it's not
likely that they'd waste their time to come and collect it even if it *did*
belong to them. Without them sending someone to vist you, it's not likely that
they will seek you out either. They ....could..... mind you ..... it's just not
likely or routine.
But .... the down side is, your panel is lokcked out and only they have the
dealer code. If you call them for it they will not want to give it to you, no
matter if the equipment belonged to the previous owners or not. Depending on
the year, make and model of the panel you have, it's not likely that another
dealer will be able to unlock it either. If the equipment does or doesn't
belong to them, it's not likely that you'll be able to get them to make the
system not report to their central or will defalut the panel so you can obtain
services of a less expensive, (and/or, at this point more credible) company.
If you did get the arming code from the previous owner, and you use the system,
every time you set the alarm off, it will send a signal into Slomins and they
will know there's a presence in the house. If you contact them, they will be
able to look at their alarm history. You could try to disconnect the phone
line, but since they normally don't use the required RJ31X jack and you, not
knowing what to look for or exactly how they hooked it up, ................ or
depending on how handy or knowledgable you are about such things, you could
disrupt your telephone service.
> Also, I have pets (the sellers had no pets), and am worried about the motion
>detector constantly going off - is there anything I can do to remedy this
>without calling Slomins and paying for a service visit?
Again, not knowing how handy you are, or exactly how the motion detector is
situated, but, yes, it's likely the motion detector could be masked to only
look at an area above the dogs head. Need more info about the area and the dog
and if possible, the make or description of the interior of the motion
detector.
>
> Should I decide not to continue the service, will Slomins come to
>the house and remove the entire system? Or do I have the option of
>keeping the system, but hiring another company for service and
>monitoring? I've tried asking these questions to Slomins, but they
>were very unhelpful on the phone, which does not give me much
>confidence in their service.
>
Typical opinion of anyone with any common sense, I'd say.
Since Slomins in typically in the North East, if you can tell me generally (not
your address) where you are located, I may be able to tell you how to locate
another dealer. Keeping in mind that they will likely have to exchange the
panel.
By the way... Can you open the main panel? What make and model is it? How many
doors, window, motions, smoke detectors, etc in the system?
>
>
Jim
Remove the Qzapp to email
After you reach a certain age, there's nothing left to learn the hard way.
Joe Greco
: I'm purchasing a house that has a Slomin's alarm system already
:installed. I have heard some very bad things about this company so I
:am debating whether to keep the service or not.
Why? Wouldn't you prefer some place you've heard lots of good things
about? Where's the debate? Dump 'em.
: As I understand it, there is a termination fee should I decide to
:keep the alarm, but then later on discontinue it before the term is
:up. Does anyone know how much this fee is? Also, I have pets (the
:sellers had no pets), and am worried about the motion detector
:constantly going off - is there anything I can do to remedy this
:without calling Slomins and paying for a service visit?
No real advice here, some of the security guys in this group will almost
certainly post some info.
: Should I decide not to continue the service, will Slomins come to
:the house and remove the entire system? Or do I have the option of
:keeping the system, but hiring another company for service and
:monitoring? I've tried asking these questions to Slomins, but they
:were very unhelpful on the phone, which does not give me much
:confidence in their service.
Here's the short form.
Unless you signed something agreeing to assume any existing obligation
with regards to the alarm system, the agreement remains between the
prior owner and the alarm company.
It's possible that they might have a lien, but you almost certainly
purchased mortgage title insurance. If you did, you're home free.
The MTI company can battle it out with the alarm company and the former
owner if need be.
The reality is that if it was in your house at the time you took
possession, and you've no agreement, you can deem it abandoned property.
It's yours. You could rip it off the wall and ship it back to Slomins,
or you could toss it in the garbage, or you could offer to let them come
and claim it. However, you are in no way obligated to do any of the above.
You certainly shouldn't enter into an agreement with a company that you
have doubts about.
One look at their web page fails to impress me (http://www.slomins.com).
I'm not sure if it's the fact that the copyright date is 4 years ago or
if it's the goofy cartoon character.
I just noticed, it looks like a Napco keypad they show on their web page.
My suggestion would be to check with your local BBB and find some reputable
local alarm company willing to take a peek and give you a list of viable
options.
... JG
J. Stevens
news:5e6c8c59.0203...@posting.google.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I'm purchasing a house that has a Slomin's alarm system already
> installed. I have heard some very bad things about this company so I
> am debating whether to keep the service or not.
Strike 1
> As I understand it, there is a termination fee should I decide to
> keep the alarm, but then later on discontinue it before the term is
> up.
Strike 2
> Should I decide not to continue the service, will Slomins come to
> the house and remove the entire system?
Not likely. Do they have a key?
> Or do I have the option of
> keeping the system, but hiring another company for service and
> monitoring? I've tried asking these questions to Slomins, but they
> were very unhelpful on the phone, which does not give me much
> confidence in their service.
Strike 3, they're out.
Call a reputable local dealer. They may have to replace the panel, but
should not charge much if you agree to central station monitoring service.
Don't consider anyone who seems inconvenienced by your call. You hold all
the cards.
--
Jack Stevens
alarman2...@yahoo.com
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