You do have a lot of options.
If you are handy, one can buy all the gear yourself and install, including an auto-dialer that will call EMS, Fire, and Police automatically. Most home systems are wireless now and can be bought as basic kits, so installation is simple. If you need more zones or coverage options than the basic kit allows, most are easily expandable.
Just do a search for "alarm system parts" or similar, and you'll find many dealers. And BTW, I am not talking about X-10 systems. The systems available even for the DIYer are the same commercial residential systems any of the "services" install.
That all being said, one of the great not so well kept secrets is that one doesn't have to pay "top dollar" for a monitored service. We even fell victim to this misconception. All the monitoring services are keen to negotiate, but one has to ask *before* signing a contract. And in fact, even many of the big name services will forgo a contract in some cases.
Call around, and one may find that you can get a quality monitored service from $15 to $30 a month, the latter often including free equipment and install. And BTW some of the best deals and best service can be found through local service providers. If you know some local businesses, call them for some references and see if they use a local alarm provider.
But if one cold-calls one of the big name service providers and doesn't make an effort to negotiate, you may find them selling you $30-50 a month, with a contract. We just went from about $40/month with a big name(begins with first letter of alphabet) to $15/month and no contract for the same monitoring and system with a local company that is very well recommended.
You do have options
Al
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