On real estate 

More visitors come to your home on Halloween than the rest of the year combined, so make sure your house and yard are prepared for safe trick or treating.

Light the Scene by providing plenty of illumination so that visitors can see where they are walking. Use the highest wattage bulbs your outdoor lighting fixtures can safely take, and consider using solar LED landscape lights along your front walk.

Eliminate fire hazards by keeping lighted candles and jack o lanterns away from landings and doorsteps where costumes could brush against the flames. Halloween ranks among the top five days of the year for candle related fires so consider using LED-bulb faux candles in place of the real thing and never leave burning candles unattended.

Dried flowers, cornstalks, hay stacks and crepe paper are also highly flammable so keep these decorations away from all flame and heat sources.

Secure the Footing for youngsters more focused on tricks and treats than watching where they are going. Clear your walkway and porch of anything a child could trip over such as garden hoses, toys, and lawn ornaments.

Secure your property to prevent burglaries and Halloween pranks by locking up doors and windows, and turn on motion sensor lights at the end of the evening. If you have collected an impressive Halloween yard display either find a way to secure props and decorations or bring them inside.

Use safe light strands that have been purchased from a reputable retailer and look for the UL mark. Ared UL means the lights are certified for both indoor and outdoor use, green is for indoor use only.

Be sure and check the rating on your extension cords and do not plug in more than the recommended wattage. Halloween is becoming the second most popular holiday to light up a home’s exterior so have fun with decorating but be careful too.

Use special heavy duty extension cords for high wattage decorations such as fog machines and electrically powered inflatable decorations.

Enhance street safety for child pedestrians and limit the danger as much as you can by clearing parked cars off the curb to allow better visibility.

If you live on a high traffic street in a Halloween-intensive neighborhood consider posting a reflective “watch for children” sign at the edge of the street, or have an adult with a flashlight out to guide the trick or treaters along.

Adriana Donofrio Podley Properties Glendora (626) 926-9700

• adrianad@podley.com