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I live near Houston, in a quiet, safe rural area. My wife is from Trinidad and Tobago, a high-crime country, and she still doesn't feel safe in a home without burglar bars and security doors. Would buying a house in a subdivision and installing those security items reduce the property value and the neighborhood around the house? Would we have to find a house in the country and then install those bars and doors so others won't complain?
Could she get the same sense of security with a good perimeter fence and security system? A pretty but secure fence, wth a gate, might actually increase value and aesthetics, if it’s done right and the lot allows it.
Last edited by Diana Holbrook; 09-29-2018 at 07:21 AM..
If you install the burglar bars just remove them before you sell the home. It is common to see elderly people, especially widows, install them on their homes in what most people would consider safe areas. Your home is yours so do what you need to do to help your wife feel safe in it.
It is the perception when you go to sell the property that is the issue. So just remove them when you sell.
Entering an urban or suburban neighborhood and seeing burglar bars on all the windows immediately makes me feel that the area is sketchy. It's not even something I need to consciously think about, it's an instant visceral evaluation. So of course it's going to lower property values, not only for your home, but for the entire location. Get ready to get a lot of side eye.
Seeing a house out in the country with burglar bars would make me think, "Wow, what on earth do they have in there that's so valuable?" Maybe not the first thing you want strangers to think when they drive past your home.
Seriously, if I were you, I'd do my best to convince my wife that you don't want to stand out, either for being so paranoid that you installed these high security measures in a perfectly normal neighborhood, or for looking like you are living in Fort Knox out in the countryside. You want to blend in, not stand out.
As someone with family from the Caribbean I totally get your wifes' perspective as most of my family members did the same when they moved up here. It's a difference in culture that stems form the actual situations of a part of the world where having a safe place to sleep isn't as easy as owning a home in a nice area.
For Americans the bars and security doors are interpreted differently as other methods of security are available and work better at prevention and theft interference. Most lower class or higher crime areas have those items as it's all people can afford so that cultural aspect will get pushed on your home and the homes around it. I know in my area it can also be a signal for a high risk home...many drug dealers or influential criminals will put the bars on their homes in nice areas as they don't rely on normal security and law enforcement. So it can make your neighbors question you (I'm not familiar with your area, you, or your neighbors...but as an black woman myself it doesn't take much for people to make assumptions from how you keep your house).
Your wife is from a beautiful but vastly different culture then she is in now. Part of living somewhere else is learning and finding comfort in the differences which will take time to adjust to....but in some ways it will be better and lead to a changed life perspective. Maybe start off with an enclosing fence or install a security system, to help create that sense of safety. Have your wife engage with neighbors, maybe they can help calm her fears and at least give her a sense that people are willing to watch over your neighborhood. In the end if she still feels the need; do what makes her feel safe and make the installments but look at trying to get the bars to blend in to the home. Maybe make sure to keep the property in good shape, repaint if needs too and such to keep it from feeling too "junky".
I live near Houston, in a quiet, safe rural area. My wife is from Trinidad and Tobago, a high-crime country, and she still doesn't feel safe in a home without burglar bars and security doors. Would buying a house in a subdivision and installing those security items reduce the property value and the neighborhood around the house? Would we have to find a house in the country and then install those bars and doors so others won't complain?
I'd get that window covering which makes the glass almost unbreakable. double lock doors. steel sheathed door also....Bars will lower the value of the house and make the neighbors wonder what the heck do you have inside your house....
Window bars are useless. All they’ll do is look like trash and trap you inside when there’s a fire.
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