Lost... Basic Alarm System for Prewired Home

I purchased a new home from a tract builder and had it prewired for an alarm system. It is in a safe neighborhood of tight nit neighbors. I want a local alarm system, but I am not interested in monitoring at the moment. What is the best way to go about getting a system installed? It seems like everyone only wants to sell monitored systems and has no interest in a nonmonitored installation. I have considered a DIY but if possible would really like to just let someone install it. I have also considered doing a short contract with some of the big brands, and then use their system after the contract ends, if they won't lock it.
 
 

The big alarm companies probably won't be interested in installing a system without a monitoring contract.  Typically, they offer the system at a low price, and the contract is where they make their money.
 
Your best bet would be to hire a local company.  But even the locals might not be interested without a monitoring contract.  Monitoring is where they make money, too.  So, without monitoring, they will charge you more for the system hardware to make up for it.
 
A simple alarm panel is relatively inexpensive.  Something like a Honeywell Vista 20P is under $50.  Keypads run about $60 each.
 
If the doors and windows already have contacts installed, the rest of the job is pretty simple - mostly wiring it up.  If the contacts aren't pre-installed, it'll be more work and cost a bit more to have someone do it.
 
Another option is to skip using the pre-wire and use wireless contacts.  That'll cost more for the hardware, but save on labor (which is why the alarm companies love to push wireless systems).
 
Note that if you have a monitored system, you will likely qualify for a discount on your homeowners insurance which will pay for much of the cost of monitoring.  

tennisjon2002 said:

I purchased a new home from a tract builder and had it prewired for an alarm system. It is in a safe neighborhood of tight nit neighbors. I want a local alarm system, but I am not interested in monitoring at the moment. What is the best way to go about getting a system installed? It seems like everyone only wants to sell monitored systems and has no interest in a nonmonitored installation. I have considered a DIY but if possible would really like to just let someone install it. I have also considered doing a short contract with some of the big brands, and then use their system after the contract ends, if they won't lock it.

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I would speak to your insurance company to check the discount before you write-off monitoring.  Maybe you won't be robbed, but a fire could happen, and quickly contacting the fire department could be the difference between coming back to part of a house, or no house. Often people think they will monitor it themselves, but when they get the fire alarm, they usually rush home to check their house before calling the fire department, and that's a bad idea.

The two guys above are more pro than I'll ever be, but I will say it's a changing world... nowadays the fire department will normally respond quickly, but the police won't be there for an hour.  To get a quick police response, it'd be best if you got the alert, logged into your cameras and told them the perp was still in there... then they'd typically rush to actually catch a criminal.  Otherwise they know most alarms are false and they're just going out to check doors.  I'm not advocating for or against monitoring - just playing devil's advocate.
 
For us, the insurance savings was like $3/month when quoted... definitely not enough to matter.  Reminds me of the laughable discount for OnStar... they said it'd save us like $0.83/month.
 
At a previous house, I tried calling around to alarm companies for someone to come do some additional wired contacts - I called every company in my area, and could only get one small one-man shop to even talk to me about it.  As said above, these guys make their money off monitoring; they couldn't care less about getting paid for 2 hours of installing a cheap system.
 
Big name companies will always install the most basic system possible and they will lock the system.  If it can even be unlocked, it'll require a full reset of the system which means you're back to programming anyway.  And that $40/month for the life of the contract is a good chunk of change.
 
Installing a basic system yourself is incredibly easy.  You wire a few contacts in, hook up power, set a few zone definitions, and you're in.  As a non-monitored system, your "risk" is maybe a late night false alarm; not a dispatch penalty.  If you can wire in a light switch, you can probably handle it and be done for a fraction of the cost.

As far as police response, I believe it’s all in what city you live in. When I used to live in Las Vegas, NV the police flat out state that they will not respond to security alarms unless there is visual verification of an intruder on-site. They don’t even respond to minor traffic accidents now!

Like others say, alarm response for a burglary is very variable, and I wouldn't even monitor if that was the only purpose.  I don't even contact police for a burglar alarm, I have the alarm company contact the security for our home owners association. They will be here in 2 minutes, and contact police if they need to.  Also, no fines for false alarms. For fire and medical emergencies, its another story, and I think monitoring is important. Monitoring for fire is a little like buying home insurance, you never plan to need it, but in the rare instance you do, your happy you have it.  Insurance can protect you financially, but if your home burns down, even with insurance, its not a fun process.  If you can alert the fire department when the fire is smoldering, you may never even have a fire.  Look at the cost you pay for insurance, look at the cost of monitoring, and decide if the cost is worth the benefit.

Welcome to the Cocoontech forum tennisjon2002.
 
Here in the early 2000's on a new home build the contractor pre-wired the alarm.  Only changes I made to the pre-wiring was a couple of adds and moving the wiring from the master bedroom closet to a centrally located in the middle of the house penciled in wiring closet location.  He left a sticker for a local old established alarm company where the wires ended up.
 
I did call for a quote on an alarm panel (including local service) after completion of the build.  The quote to install a panel and terminate all of the wiring was around $3000 or so.  I purchased an OmniPro 2 and installed it myself (baby step fashion over a couple of months) with self configured service reasonably priced.
 
Same home insurance for two homes used for some 40 years and did get a discount.  That said discount number has decreased much since the early 2000's and home insurance numbers did go up. 
 
I have considered a DIY but if possible would really like to just let someone install it.
 
Dig a bit deeper and you may find someone or company to do this for you. 
 
My son and his buddy just wired up his buddy's dad's warehouses with CCTV at next to nothing prices.
 
I concur with the above relating to DIYing your alarm panel stuff / services baby steps fashion.  You will get the best bang for your buck.

Ok I think I am going to go the DIY route. I need to talk with the person that did the wiring, but from what I can tell, it looks like it was wired for 2 panels, the siren and a few motion sensors. It looks like I will have to go wireless for 3 doors and a few windows. Any suggestions of systems that are easy to use and program?

tennisjon2002 said:

Ok I think I am going to go the DIY route. I need to talk with the person that did the wiring, but from what I can tell, it looks like it was wired for 2 panels, the siren and a few motion sensors. It looks like I will have to go wireless for 3 doors and a few windows. Any suggestions of systems that are easy to use and program?

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The Honeywell Vista 20P would be a reasonable choice if all you want to do is security.  It can support both wired and wireless sensors.
 
If you are interested in integrating the security functions with home automation, then something like the Elk M1 Gold or the HAI Omni Pro II would be better choices, though quite a bit more expensive.
 
The installation manuals for alarm panels are geared towards experienced alarm system installers, and they tend to assume that you know what you are doing.  There are numerous videos on YouTube that show you how to installed these panels.  I suggest you watch several of them to see if you will be comfortable with the task.  You'll probably end up with new questions once you do that, so come back and we'll be glad to help.

tennisjon2002 said:

Ok I think I am going to go the DIY route. I need to talk with the person that did the wiring, but from what I can tell, it looks like it was wired for 2 panels, the siren and a few motion sensors. It looks like I will have to go wireless for 3 doors and a few windows. Any suggestions of systems that are easy to use and program?

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If you have wires, certainly use them, but today wireless sensors are no less reliable. My house was wires for security but no panel was installed. That was great to add in the keypads and a single motion detector but I needed many more. The wireless sensors typically last 10 years on a battery, and work just like the wired zones. Just pick a wireless standard that sells "repeaters" and mount one high near the center of your house. I like the "GE" sensors because they are cheap and there are a few repeaters to pick from. I even have sensors on outside gates and if you waterproof them with a bit of silicon sealer, they work great.

I almost have the same issue. I'm considering buying a couple of security cameras and getting them installed on my own. They sell cheaper during Christmas. Gotta select the best ones cuz I'll probably be on vacation.

Thanks everyone, finally getting closer, will probably try to get this put in next month. 
 
I am really not interested in any automation features right now. I already have a few separate automated features in my house (garage door, thermostats etc.)
 
Any thoughts on the Vista 20P with Tuxedo Keypad vs DSC Power series? I hear there are maybe some concerns with DSC build quality? Which would be easier to install/program?

Which would be easier to install/program?
 
Personally I would read the installation manuals to decide which one would be easier for you to program.
 
Installation of just about any alarm panel is the same.
 
Note that both are made for commercial alarm installations. 
 
For the DIYer and depending on your knowledge base of this stuff it can be easy or difficult to install and or configure.