Slomin's Shield vs. ADT

I have a two family house, and I want both my home and my tenant’s apartment to have monitored security. My tenant has a separate private entrance, but as a landlord, I will of course need access to the apartment. Reps from ADT and Slomin’s both visited and this is what I got:

ADT is $199 to set up. After that it’s $45 a month for my place and $43 for the tenant’s. The tenant would have his own keypad, and he would have to tell me the code.

Slomin’s is $380 to set up. But then with a tenant-landlord deal they offer, my home is $29 a month and the tenant’s apartment is $6 extra. The tenant will have his own keypad, but I will have a landlord override code so I don’t need to know the tenant’s passcode.

For Slomin’s I have to sign a five-year commitment. I didn’t ask the ADT guy how long I had to commit. I’m wondering if that’s the only catch. I did notice online that ADT has a few bells and whistles like Internet monitoring of the system, but I’m really not interested in that.

Because I’m not planning on moving out of this house until someone else moves me horizontally, Slomin’s seems like such an obvious choice that I have to believe I’m missing something.

Any thoughts?

DouglasAlan

in Security 13 years and 11 months ago

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a4gash | 13 years and 10 months ago

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I had the same set up you describe and went with Alarms-R-Us. Couldn’t be happier. They were very responsive and professional–but personable as well. You actually deal with people who know what customer service is.

denton | 13 years and 10 months ago

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Wouldn’t go with ADT, Had  a really bad experience with them. Went with a local company (Alarms R Us) and couldn’t be happier.

levicapland | 13 years and 10 months ago

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I would look at FrontPoint Security. They are the top rated DIY alarm system company. My wife did tons of research on all the companies listed in all the answers. Frontpoint is the way to go. No need to pay installers and get tied into long commitments. They have a great iphone app from alarm.com and their website lets you control everything as well. We pay $39 a month. Everything is wireless and the monitoring works on a wireless network as well. Check them out at fronpointsecurity.com

Levi
SoHo Appliances

bpie | 13 years and 10 months ago

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I have ADT, and have never had a problem.  Unfortch, I have had issues with carbon monoxide alarms (hard to pinpoint each time, but they were real), but I would say their service is very good.

jockdeboeraia | 13 years and 11 months ago

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I have ADT, pay $156 quarterly for a SFH.  I find the service fast, but the policy dept very slow to respond to calls.  The fire dept on the other hand shows up instantly if notified.  Dust in the air or the plumber’s torch will set it off and once it goes there is no calling the fire truck back.  Always remember to call and tell ADT to ignore signals unless you call.

shahnandersen

in Security 13 years and 11 months ago

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Neither. Both of those outfits have incredibly poor service and charge far too much for the privilege. You’re essentially leasing your alarm from them. Unless this is for a business and you can deduct those payments as a business expense, it doesn’t make financial sense either. Call a local alarm company. Not only will it be cheaper and offer better service, you’ll be supporting a local business. I would look for a Honeywell (formerly Ademco) distributor as they are the most cost effective and user friendly systems.