Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 28, 2014 17:10:09 GMT -5
Just curious if you have an opinion on gated communities.
Personally I've never been a fan, or really seen the need for them. Then again, I've never lived in a particularly dangerous area.
My Grandfather lived in a gated senior living community before he died. It was a pain the ass to go visit him because you could only have so many people on "the list" so we had to go through this whole song and dance of getting a permit and permissions just to go see the old guy.
Plus I'm not convinced they're really effective at keeping troublemakers out. I've never seen a gated community I couldn't get into if I really wanted to.
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Rocky Mtn Saver
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Post by Rocky Mtn Saver on Jan 28, 2014 17:13:19 GMT -5
Plus I'm not convinced they're really effective at keeping troublemakers out. I've never seen a gated community I couldn't get into if I really wanted to. Hey, Justin Bieber got into one, so clearly they aren't effective at keeping troublemakers out...
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jan 28, 2014 17:17:34 GMT -5
When we moved to AZ my list was; 1. Walkable to town 2. No golf course 3. No gated community
I think you pay a dear price for a false sense of security. Most of the folks that will do you harm or steal from you are folks that you already know. Creepy but true.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 28, 2014 17:25:28 GMT -5
There's ones with gates (which is a lot) and those with security guy manning the gates, I guess you're only talking about the later? Those are a pain.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Jan 28, 2014 17:31:14 GMT -5
When we looked at homes in So Cal, we saw several homes in gated communities. Not for me. I grew up in the Plains States, where friends and family drop by for coffee. (And you cut through the yard of the neighbor across the street on your way to the pot luck over to the church.) I don't want to lock my friends and family out of my neighborhood.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 28, 2014 17:50:13 GMT -5
We live in one and I wish the gate was closed 24/7. We have people just crusing the neighborhood which is annoying, to say the least. We have to pay for the roads ourselves so I think it needs to be residents and guests. As far as safety, it doesn't help but it would cut down on the traffic which would be nice.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 28, 2014 17:59:22 GMT -5
My Dad lived in one for awhile. The only con I can remember is having to make sure he was home to open the gate when I came into town to visit. Other than that, it was a pristine community, and his condo was across the street from the pool.
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kent
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Post by kent on Jan 28, 2014 18:17:04 GMT -5
Just curious if you have an opinion on gated communities. Plus I'm not convinced they're really effective at keeping troublemakers out. I've never seen a gated community I couldn't get into if I really wanted to. Actually, they are sort of a magnet for the bad guys - they figure you wouldn't live there if you didn't have something of value to protect.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jan 28, 2014 21:33:13 GMT -5
I dont' know... not much experience with them other than when visiting relatives in Texas. the 12 McMansions were all in a gated community with another 'gated community' next door and on and on. I never really thought the 'gates' were for security...cause why would I want to live someplace where'd I need to be terrified to leave the safety of my 'gated community'? After all if the bad guys are in the area - what's to keep them from waiting for me at the stoplight/stop sign just outside the gates or at the local shopping center or the grocery store? I always thought the 'gates' were for prestige. Or maybe like the "cold shoulder" or withering look or view down one's nose when some 'undesirable' happens to get too close to one's table at restaurant or considers sitting next to you at the movies or other public place.
I would imagine the gates do give a false sense of security - although they probably do discourage 'crimes of opportunity' but then a locked door or locked car doors usually provide the same thing. If someone really wants to get in they will - but why not discourage the people who take advantage of easy opportunities (and lock your doors).
In my area there aren't really 'gated communities' but rather subdivisions with only a couple of entrance streets into them. That kinda keeps a lot of 'cut thru' traffic out. A lot of the older suburbs had created 'cul de sacs' by blocking in/out on to some of the busier streets - thus discouraging traffic from the busy streets from cutting thru. In other words there are other ways to control traffic and looky lous if that's what's trying to be accomplished. On the other hand some people need to feel secure - even if it's a false sense.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 28, 2014 23:25:24 GMT -5
There's ones with gates (which is a lot) and those with security guy manning the gates, I guess you're only talking about the later? Those are a pain. I Guess I'm talking about both. But I do agree the ones with security guards are more of a pain than those without.
And I agree that any sense of security they provide is false at best.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 28, 2014 23:27:32 GMT -5
When we looked at homes in So Cal, we saw several homes in gated communities. Not for me. I grew up in the Plains States, where friends and family drop by for coffee. (And you cut through the yard of the neighbor across the street on your way to the pot luck over to the church.) I don't want to lock my friends and family out of my neighborhood. Yeah, that may be part of it. I grew up in the Midwest, they just didn't have gated communities much. They were around, but in general things were pretty safe and kids played in each other's yards.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 8:42:57 GMT -5
A group of homeowners want to turn our community into a gated one. The rub is it couldn't only be a nighttime gate because we have a city park on our mountain (although some have talked about trying to buy the park.. good luck). The streets are city owned also.
Thankfully the cost would be so high, that our HOA CC&Rs say that 51% of all households would have to vote for it. The HOA board on their own can't implement it. There is no way it would get that level of home owner support.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Jan 29, 2014 9:44:18 GMT -5
My parents vacation home in Palm Springs is in a gated community. It's a non-manned gate. You have to have an opener (like a garage door opener) to open the gate or have the code. It's not overly safe because they don't change the code that often. Between my parents, friends and relatives there is someone in the house from basically October to May and then a couple of times during the summer. However, they have a great relationship with several of their neighbors and they will give my folks a heads up if there is anything happening in the neighborhood.
They are Midwesterners and feel more secure having the vacation home in a gated community. IDK I tried to tell them it really wasn't any safer than a regular neighborhood but it helps them sleep at night so I keep my mouth shut.
When I worked as an Interior Designer in California gated communities were a major PITA. You'd have to give them full name, photo id, business cards, wait while they'd call up to the house to see if you were cleared, etc. 50% of the time the client would forget to add you to the list so you'd have to wait there while they tracked the client down and got their permission to let me in.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 29, 2014 9:48:50 GMT -5
Here we pay for our own roads so not having drive by cars is nice because then we only pay for our own residents and guests use. We don't have kids in this neighborhood except for the one so having safe streets isn't a priority. Our backs all open up anyway because we aren't surrounded by a fence or a wall. It's simply to stop the rubber neckers from using the roads.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 29, 2014 10:21:13 GMT -5
Oh, geez. I live in the land of gated communities and gated McMansions. . I am not in either one. I see the point, sometimes, in terms of security, but as Phoenix stated, if you want in, you can get in. We've had carjackings (committed right inside the gate when the perpetrators followed the residents in) and burglaries (committed by people who stole codes/passwords to gates). And we have had some horrific crimes committed inside some very exclusive areas, but those were inside jobs. Proof, I suppose, that evil can be found anywhere.
It's nice that the gated communities can control traffic to an extent - if there are kids, it makes the roads a little safer for them to play on. But for services such as trash removal, fire rescue and police, it can be a PITA. And public school bus pickups, as far as I know, must be done outside the gate; the buses do not go inside. Private school busess are another matter.
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Tennesseer
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Post by Tennesseer on Jan 29, 2014 10:21:23 GMT -5
Here we pay for our own roads so not having drive by cars is nice because then we only pay for our own residents and guests use. We don't have kids in this neighborhood except for the one so having safe streets isn't a priority. Our backs all open up anyway because we aren't surrounded by a fence or a wall. It's simply to stop the rubber neckers from using the roads. This ìs confusing. Do non-residents drive you roads or are those cruising the neighborhood residents of your gated community?
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cktc
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Post by cktc on Jan 29, 2014 11:16:13 GMT -5
The size of the community can also be a huge factor in how effective an unmanned gate is. At my last condo everyone set their own 4 digit entry code. 200+ units, 10,000 possible codes, maybe only a 2% chance, but with so many people you can bet someone picks 1234, 1111, or 1492. Even without a code, someone is always coming or going so you don’t have to wait long to follow someone into the complex, especially on the weekend when people are having parties.
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Iggy aka IG
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Post by Iggy aka IG on Jan 29, 2014 11:58:59 GMT -5
When I worked as an Interior Designer in California gated communities were a major PITA. You'd have to give them full name, photo id, business cards, wait while they'd call up to the house to see if you were cleared, etc. 50% of the time the client would forget to add you to the list so you'd have to wait there while they tracked the client down and got their permission to let me in. Some of my sub-contractor clients work in an exclusive area outside Vail. In addition to what you mention, Sheila, there is the slew of rules they must adhere to: Can't arrive too early, can't make too much noise, mess, etc., and must be out by a certain time. Like OUT completely, not finished at the home itself, but out the gates.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 29, 2014 12:11:14 GMT -5
I live in a gated community, it's a condo though so much less gating - but you do have to have the clicker to even enter the walk-only entrances. There's only one gate with a box in the front and there's no code you can tell people, so they have to call the person they're trying to let in. (There is a code a friend found out about, but it's only worked have the time I've tried it. That part is annoying because since I live downtown it's one way streets and the back entrance is more convenient for most of my friends, but that means I have to walk back there to let them in.
I picked it over a few non-gate options (though most of the condos downtown are gated in some way), but the main reason was the security. Not from the gates, those suckers break and it's easy as hell to follow someone in or wait until someone leaves, but the condo association pays for security guards at night and on the weekend. There's also a ton of cameras everywhere that catch practically everything. Doesn't stop everything, there were two girls that got beat up and robbed and sometimes drunk people think it's funny to pull the alarm at 3am, but they are always caught rather quickly because of the cameras. The guys that went over the girls were locked up within a few days because they got good face shots and a photo of the vehicle as it drove away.
ETA: I've lived there almost 4 years and that was the only violent act like that. Or at least I'm pretty sure, it spread like wildfire and a few days later the association sent out a letter telling generally what info they handed over to the cops, and again a notice when the guys were caught. So it's pretty safe, considering a huge portion of the residents stumble home drunk from the bars on the weekends.
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souldoubt
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Post by souldoubt on Jan 29, 2014 12:40:10 GMT -5
I've never lived in a gated community but I would have no problem with it. Ultimately to me it would be a matter of what I'm paying for in the way of rent or HOA fees and what I get out of it. I've got friends that live in a gated community and as a part of the community they have pools, tennis courts, a small gym and some other amenities. It's the type of gated community with security out front that has to buzz you in after they contact the people who live there to verify you are supposed to be there. It's a hassle to sometimes find parking inside and you need a pass to keep your car there over night but most of the hassle is because there's so many units and only so many spots.
Another good friend lives in a community that's gated as far as needing a code to get your car in there or a key to walk in. I park all the time in the non gated part and it's just fine. The area isn't bad but the gates keep people from walking through what is a pretty populated area and if I lived there I'd prefer the gate to not having one. Where I live now my community is surrounded by housing tracks and there's no stores in the immediate area that has people walking around who don't live near by. No need for a gate here but in certain places I can see why they have one.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 29, 2014 13:57:53 GMT -5
I'm not sure why, but gated communities seem to be more common in some areas of the country than others. They're everywhere, but for some reason Florida and California seem to have more of them than most states.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 29, 2014 14:14:09 GMT -5
Oh, geez. I live in the land of gated communities and gated McMansions. . I am not in either one. I see the point, sometimes, in terms of security, but as Phoenix stated, if you want in, you can get in. We've had carjackings (committed right inside the gate when the perpetrators followed the residents in) and burglaries (committed by people who stole codes/passwords to gates). And we have had some horrific crimes committed inside some very exclusive areas, but those were inside jobs. Proof, I suppose, that evil can be found anywhere. It's nice that the gated communities can control traffic to an extent - if there are kids, it makes the roads a little safer for them to play on. But for services such as trash removal, fire rescue and police, it can be a PITA. And public school bus pickups, as far as I know, must be done outside the gate; the buses do not go inside. Private school busess are another matter. I don't think private school busses would have any easier time getting in than public school busses.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Jan 29, 2014 14:38:19 GMT -5
Oh, geez. I live in the land of gated communities and gated McMansions. . I am not in either one. I see the point, sometimes, in terms of security, but as Phoenix stated, if you want in, you can get in. We've had carjackings (committed right inside the gate when the perpetrators followed the residents in) and burglaries (committed by people who stole codes/passwords to gates). And we have had some horrific crimes committed inside some very exclusive areas, but those were inside jobs. Proof, I suppose, that evil can be found anywhere. It's nice that the gated communities can control traffic to an extent - if there are kids, it makes the roads a little safer for them to play on. But for services such as trash removal, fire rescue and police, it can be a PITA. And public school bus pickups, as far as I know, must be done outside the gate; the buses do not go inside. Private school busess are another matter. I don't think private school busses would have any easier time getting in than public school busses. Depends on the school and the number of kids going. And the size of the bus. Some of the smaller vehicles can get through the gates. Some cannot. And of course, each HOA makes its own decisions. But for the public school buses, they just don't go through the gated communities. It's too time-consuming to get through the gate guards. And heaven forbid those other little public school heathens should see what's in the good side of town.
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justme
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Post by justme on Jan 29, 2014 14:42:26 GMT -5
I'm not sure why, but gated communities seem to be more common in some areas of the country than others. They're everywhere, but for some reason Florida and California seem to have more of them than most states. An explanation for Florida may be the abundance of HOAs. I've heard, but not seen the law, that has all new housing divisions in Orlando have to have HOAs.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Jan 29, 2014 15:15:09 GMT -5
HOA's are pretty much non-existent where I live in MN. My old neighborhood had one but we were a private neighborhood with like 20 houses. We each chipped in $50 a year for light bulbs for the street lights and that was about it. My parents have one but they live on a private road with 9 houses on it. They all have a flat fee that they pay for the guy to plow their road and their driveways in the winter. The majority of the residents in my town have never even heard of HOAs before.
My old neighborhood and my parents neighborhood are the exceptions to the norm.
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Bonny
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Post by Bonny on Jan 29, 2014 16:48:27 GMT -5
I'm not sure why, but gated communities seem to be more common in some areas of the country than others. They're everywhere, but for some reason Florida and California seem to have more of them than most states. I can't speak to FL but gated communities became very popular in So. CA in the 80s. Land use changed a lot back then too with more and more private parks, pools and streets. In the old days a developer would typically donate the parks and streets to the town when they were done but I have the feeling that cities pushed back and wanted money to operate and maintain those facilities. In other words they wanted an endowment for operation and maintenance. With Prop 13 freezing/limiting taxes that paid for maintenance of those amenities no city wanted to get stuck with expensive "gifts". Therefore new communities formed HOAs to maintain those amenities and gated them to keep out the public from using their stuff and causing additional liability.
I can also talk about Mello Roos but y'all would
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 29, 2014 16:49:52 GMT -5
A lot of newer areas will have them because that's a good way for the city or county to stick residents with paying for roads. So residents decide since they have to pay for the roads, they're going to be the ones driving on them. It cost us almost 90k to redo our roads. That's going to be a cost every 10 years or so. Why should we pay for public roads? So we gated our community. Unfortunately the gate is open during the day but I'm thinking that very soon it won't be.
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 29, 2014 17:45:16 GMT -5
A lot of newer areas will have them because that's a good way for the city or county to stick residents with paying for roads. So residents decide since they have to pay for the roads, they're going to be the ones driving on them. It cost us almost 90k to redo our roads. That's going to be a cost every 10 years or so. Why should we pay for public roads? So we gated our community. Unfortunately the gate is open during the day but I'm thinking that very soon it won't be. What's the concern with people driving on your roads? Are they using your neighborhood for a pass through? Or are they driving too fast? Or are you guys just of the opinion that since you pay for them only you guys get to drive them.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 29, 2014 17:51:47 GMT -5
It damages the roads. Every vehicle causes damage. Add into that the extreme winter/potholes, and all, and you are replacing the roads every 10 years and its a lot of money. Money WE have to come up with. Sorry you don't get it but how about if I use your house every so often and just pay you nothing?
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Jan 29, 2014 20:21:43 GMT -5
I've lived behind gates twice in my life. Both places were absolutely gorgeous but I think that it's unwise to block chi like that.
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