need unbiased advice about lynx system

Sure just find a local company that's willing to set you up locally, have them come out an re-program it and teach you how to use it...then pay for the service call. ADT won't work on a local system but you might find someone that will...call around.

Personally, I think local systems are almost worthless...jmo.

ADT should be able to come out and program the system as a "local" for you. You'll have to pay the service charge though. As a local system, I would suggest that you ask the ADT tech to change the installer code back to the system's default. That way, you can pick and choose your monitoring provider when (and if) you decide to hook up a hard line. Good luck!!!

Frank,

In my area (Sacramento, CA), ADT doesn't bother with local systems... They tell the homeowner it will cost $99 plus a 3 year monitoring contract........ Regards, Russ

You don't say who originally installed this system.

ADT generally does not lockout keypad programming, Protection One does...so who knows if it's locked or not.

It may not be locked and you can reprogram it yourself.

Buy a control panel and keypad(s), and replace it yourself for about $100- program it to call your cell phone as a pager number. Or pay someone else $200 to $300 to replace it for you, or pay a local dealer $200-300 plus $15-20 per month for monitoring, or pay a nat'l co $100 + $30/mo for 2-5 yrs.

BTW- since ADT almost certainly still owns the equipment, give them a certified letter stating that they have 14 days to come remove their equipment...if they don't, (they probably won't) it belongs to you.

You may not have to pay that $33/month for a monitoring service if you install a do-it-yourself new panel.

Many of these panels will dial pagers, cell phones, neighbors when the alarm goes off, and do require a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) hard-wire line to connect. It may not be just as good, but in many cases, it's almost as good as using a monitoring service.

I would avoid anything to do with ADT. Their interests (keeping you dumb and uniformed, keeping their system a mystery, and signing you up for a long-term, expensive monitoring contract), are not the same as your interests.

Beachcomber

if you are going to use it as a local alarm, make sure to get a loud siren installed (at least 20watts), will need a seperate power supply for that and use a relay. The sirens that it supports by default are way too quite to be worth using it as a local system.

If it is all wireless and has a lot of devices, then for sure it is worth keeping it, for now. Just upgrade the siren if it hasnt already been done.

Dunno why everyone is assuming ADT installed it..the op never said that.

Talk to a realtor and they'll tell you it conveys with the transfer of the house to the new owner, talk to a lawyer and he'll say probably not...if the equipment is clearly marked as being leased from xxxx the the equipment technically would belong to the leasor. Now....I can tell ya if I bought a house with a system attached to the wall and an alarm company came knocking on the door to remove it...aint gonna happen even if I had no intention of ever using it. Its kinda a moot point, the leasor will seldom bother to remove a 10 year old alarm panel covered with dust that cost 80 bucks when new and they *would* be responsible to repair any damage during removal...patching holes, making the paint job look right etc.

Try that with the car your leasing...

Care to tell us where 14 days comes from?

Depending on the laws in your state, leased equipment may or may not become "abandoned" after a certain amount of time. Don't assume anything.

yeah best they check with the previous owner ...

Course when you buy a house, dont you take inventory of everything that it comes with, in other words, if you buy a house you should know whether that thing on the wall belongs to the house or not. If its not on the list then the seller should deal with it. We've taken down so many alarms when i was doing alarms, it aint funny, where the owners sold the house, or the owners of the alarm moved out (renters), can you say caulking and moe caulking ... :-)

Gotta read the contract, if available, and check your local laws, but in most places that I'm aware of, if you give appropraite notice to the owner of the equipment to remove the equipment, and they fail to do so within a certain time frame (which varies by locality), the equipment becomes yours to do with as you see fit. In any case, you have the right to remove it, put it in a box, and save it for the company that owns it. They probably won't even bother coming to get it, especially if it's a basic 'cookie cutter' system.

I'm not aware of anyplace that does not allow you to remove or otherwise dispose of leased alarm equipment after giving appropriate advance notice to the owner of said equipment. Care to point me to a stated law that says otherwise? To compare a previously leased alarm between a former homeowner and his alarm co. and an automobile lease is just a tad off the mark. You might compare a leased car STEREO to it, but not the car itself. The new owner of this home isn't beholden to the installing entity, other than to give them an opportunity to come get their equipment. Period.

Entirely right. The person who leased the system may or may not have some obligation to the company that installed it. However, that obligation does not pass on to the new occupant unless they agree to it in writing.

Regards, Robert L Bass

Before you sell a house you tell the realtor what will be sold along with the house any exclusions and must be revealed to the potential buyer...typically anything that is physically attached to the house will convey with the sale of the house unless it's excluded....ceiling fans, light fixtures, speakers, alarm systems...etc.

actually...we don't know who installed it....the op only says he called ADT...doesn't necessarily mean it's theirs.

it's CERTAINLY worth a shot at doing it himself..nothing to lose...but like Rory saids..if its gonna be a local I definitely add a real siren to it.

But if I signed the lease on the car I wouldn't expect to get out of it in that manner.

Wouldn't the difference be that he didn't sign any lease with ADT? He bought a house that had the equipment in it and said equipment was likely represented as part of the purchase. Why couldn't he say come and get it or its mine?

Actually I am really asking 'cause I don't know what the legal parameters might be.

Or .... who knows, that local dealer might do it at cost and give you free service, no contract, and a lowball monitoring rate. Which indicates that he doesn't have a ounce of intelligence about runing a business or buiding equity in his enterprise, and that you should take advantage of him as long as you can ..... as he well deserves.

Correct.

How it was represented to him by the previous owner isn't the issue. It's a matter of property rights.

He can and should. He has no obligation to whoever installed the system beyond that. If they fail to pick it up within a reasonable period (what is "reasonable" varies from place to place) the equipment becomes abandoned property and he now owns it.

It depends on your state laws but you've got the right idea.

Actually, any chattel property -- leased or otherwise -- which the owner fails to retrieve within a reasonable period after having been notified becomes abandoned. BTW, I'm only speaking of US property. Obviously, this doesn't apply to the customer who leased the system in the first place.

Regards, Robert L Bass

Exactly right !! The best thing for the client might be to simply have a local dealer replace the hardware with a newer and better panel for a few bucks, or do it yourself if you are capable. Who knows, that local dealer might do it at cost simply to get a long term contract. Then box up the ADT stuff, tell them to come get it (if you can ever get hold of them), and press on. They likely won't send anyone out to collect old hardware that has little residual value.

Alarm equipment designed for residential applications is so inexpensive today, it almost doesn't make much sense to try to keep old hardware.

R.H.Campbell Home Security Metal Products Ottawa, Ontario, Canada