Gated communities : Truth & hype... (Marble Falls, Howe: crime rate, house, buyers)

[harrygrath]

I have read a few articles on gated communities.

On paper,they seem the ideal type of community,with zero crime & trouble.

However,ckecking on internet I see very few of them to be advertised.

Either,they have clients through other type of referral,or there r indeed very few such communities.

Any person who actually lives in such a community to share his experience with us ?

Any body with first hand knowledge of life in a gated community ?

Comments welcome.

[golfgod]

I live in a gated community (Meadowlakes) which is an incorportated city within the city of Marble Falls in the Hill Country. While I'm confident that having the gate does reduce crime I've seen NO data that it does anything positive for home values.

We had quite a "to do" up here last year between the golf course (inside our city) and the city itself. The city of Marble Falls wanted to buy our golf course (ostensibly as a spot to dump its effluent) and the city of Meadowlakes did everything to stop them by running a scare campaign. Among the biggest points was:

If Marble Falls buys our golf course THEY'LL BE ABLE TO TAKE OUT OUR GATE.

The campaign really had little truth in it, more along the lines of a G. W. Bush-"Vote for me or you'll DIE"-campaign.

Overall I guess I kind of like living in a gated community, but I'm not sure that the "liking" comes more from the lake, the golf course or the gate.

Hope this helps.

golfgod

[harrygrath]

Obviously,the crime rate is zero,right ?

If this becomes a trend,then definitely the homes in gated com. will have much higher resale value...

U may give me an idea of the additional costs & expences of a gated com...

[Topaz]

My mom lives in a gated community with video surveillance. This just means that after crimes are committed, they have nice video of the alleged perpetrator's car being waved through by security. Criminals seem to figure out how to thwart most security unless it is super sophisticated.

[Poltracker]

If you do some more checking on the internet, you will find that the crime rate in gated communities is far from 0. It may be lower, but it is not 0. There were actually some good articles in the papers last year about this subject. Personally, I see no value in being "gated" as you can have criminals behind the gates as well as on the other side so there is no point.

[harrygrath]

I 've checked a similar thread for Florida.

I d n understand how it is possible for a criminal to enter a GC,either manned or not.

There is a physical barrier,u have the castle law,he has to be a freak to attempt ...invasion of such a fortress.

[SkyeAnjel]

Gated communities make it difficult for friends and families to visit, gate codes, etc.
I have a security system on my house...good enough....of course if you don't want your friends and family dropping by..gated would be perfect. they would always have to make an appointment!

[harrygrath]

Even if the gate is unpersoned (..politically correct term to : unmanned ..) ,the visitors can use the intercom...

Any real -life examples of house value appreciation,due to gating ?

[jeffisok]

I's a way to get more money from home buyers for a false sense of security that people fall for. But hey, that's just the way it is.

[harrygrath]

Why false ?

Logically,it is the way to go...