Most Bay Area property managers overpay for security by 15–30% — not because rates are high, but because the coverage plan was never matched to the property’s actual risk. The vendor sold a template. The renewal added 5%. Nobody re-examined whether the hours, the posts, or the armed-vs-unarmed mix still made sense. Here are the five signs it’s happening to you, and what to do about each.
1. You’re paying for 24/7 coverage on a property with 8 high-risk hours
This is the single most common overcharge. A motel, an office building, a retail center — each has a real risk window (typically evening through early morning) and a low-risk window (business hours with staff and customers present). A vendor who puts a 24/7 post on that property is billing 16 hours a day of coverage that deters almost nothing. The fix is a right-sized plan: heavy presence during peak-risk hours, mobile patrol or no coverage during low-risk hours. A Hayward motel that switched to Surefire on exactly this basis got better coverage at materially less cost and has renewed for three years.
2. You’re paying armed rates for a property that doesn’t need armed officers
Armed coverage runs $40–$65/hour in the Bay Area versus $30–$45 for unarmed. Some vendors default to armed because it sounds safer and bills higher. In reality, unarmed uniformed officers deter the overwhelming majority of incidents at apartment communities, hotels, retail, and standard commercial properties. Armed coverage is warranted for cannabis, high-value inventory, executive protection, and sites with a specific known threat — not as a default. If every post on your invoice is armed, ask why.
3. Your renewal price went up but nothing about the service did
Annual increases of 3–5% tied to wage inflation are normal. Increases with no explanation, no service change, and no new deliverable are a vendor testing how much you’ll tolerate. Pull your last three contracts and compare the hourly rate. If it’s climbed more than 10% cumulatively with no change in officer count, hours, or reporting, you’re funding their margin, not your security.
4. You’re paying for a static post where a patrol would work better and cost less
Storage facilities, industrial parks, construction sites, and multi-building complexes are usually better served by a marked patrol vehicle running randomized rounds than by an officer sitting in a shack that criminals time and work around. A patrol route covering three of your properties costs less per site than three static posts and produces a stronger deterrent effect. An Alameda self-storage facility that had recurring break-ins with a fixed-post vendor went to zero break-ins in year one after switching to randomized vehicle patrol.
5. You’re paying for reporting you don’t receive
Every security contract includes reporting in the price. If what you get is a raw patrol log dump — or nothing unless you ask — you’re paying for a deliverable that isn’t delivered. Proper monthly reporting includes an executive summary, incident count with trends, notable events with photos, and recommendations. If you can’t hand your owner or board the report as-is, it isn’t a report.
What to do about it
- Pull your last invoice and contract. Note hours per day, armed vs. unarmed, hourly rate, and what reporting you actually received last month.
- Get a second-opinion assessment. A competent vendor will walk your property free and tell you — in writing — what coverage the property actually needs and what it should cost. Surefire does this at no charge: request a walk-through.
- Compare like for like. Same hours, same coverage type, same reporting. Then compare price.
- Know your exit terms. Most contracts have a 30-day notice; some have lock-in clauses. Our guide to switching without a service gap walks through the transition step by step.
If the assessment shows you’re overpaying, Surefire currently offers 10% off your first 3 months when you switch from another vendor — details on our switching page. Call (510) 789-6304. California PPO 121780. Serving 76 Bay Area cities.
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