Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Simple Alarm System

I am trying to secure 2 doors that are only 2' apart (one leads to the outside and the other to the garage). There is no need to secure windows as they are all upstairs.

This new, small home is located in a safe neighborhood and will be for rent. It is framed out and the sheetrock will begin soon. Do I need to go to a professional installer, or is this a do-it-yourself job? If it matters, the interior electrical panel is only 3' away from the doors.

I know very, very little about alarm systems, so all comments are appreciated. My neighbor--a retired master electrician who has never installed one--has offered to assist.

Even if you don't plan to alarm the upper floors, pre-wiring the openings is a good long-term investment (it's a good future selling point).

Have your openings prewired for a standard system; home run from each opening to a good panel location (inside of a closet is best, with a semi-dedicated outlet to power the system). Also don't forget wiring to your telecom homerun and sirens (and possibly a couple of logical motion detector locations).

You may not need these wiring points in the short term, but you will likely thank yourself in the long run.

Pretty much any of the small 4 zone systems will do the job for what you want to do, even a Honeywell/Ademco Lynx or an GE/ITI Simon.