[BucFan]

Originally Posted by MsVaslovik

I drive people from the airport to a great many gated communities and I have to say if someone bad wants to get in there, really wants to get in there, that gate isn't going to stop them, nor are the guards at the gate. The bad guys will just come in over the wall and do home invasion robberies as they please. I know of a few such gated communities where it's happened, one being Pelican Landing in Bonita Springs, where a home invasion robbery took place despite the guarded gate, and the bad guys got clean away with it.

Fact is, you can pony up all the bucks you want for imagined security, but there really is no such thing as real security. If the bad guys want to get at you bad enough, they will.

but you won't have unwanted people just willy-nilly cruising the streets looking to be mischievous, trashing the streets, being loud, etc etc.....don't like gate communities, don't live there.....I'm happy in mine - have been the last two communities I've lived.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by BucFan

but you won't have unwanted people just willy-nilly cruising the streets looking to be mischievous, trashing the streets, being loud, etc etc.....don't like gate communities, don't live there.....I'm happy in mine - have been the last two communities I've lived.

Thank you! I lived in a higher end non-gated community and moved to a gated community months ago. There is a clear difference. We used to have random cars and trucks cruising our streets in the non-gated community. Bulk pickup would bring out lots of it. Always had random cars on the street, and mind you, we had a cul-da-sac with 10 houses, but random people all the time on it. Then in the gated community, almost no traffic, nothing. These people talk about a false sense of security and blah blah, but living in both and it's VERY obvious there is a difference.

[City Guy997S]

Gated communities are a joke especially after meeting the "guards" who struggle to stay awake!

If it is manned, the HOA fee will certainly be higher than if it wasn't. To me I would rather save the extra few hundred a month (forever BTW) and pass on Francois the security guard. I have been in dozens of gated communities and honestly have never been impressed with the security force. $300 a month extra is $36,000 over ten years!

I recently attended a party at a quasi celebrity's house in a very very exclusive oceanfront community. Guard was 85 years old and we simply said we are here for the party (granted dressed for the occasion, nice car etc) and he simply told us to drive on through. Not exactly a TSA search followed by a US customs checkpoint........which for 20 million dollar homes I would expect more than a wave through!

[City Guy997S]

Funny story about a gated community: Should You Buy in a Gated Community?--WSJ House Talk - WSJ

Numerous studies over the years have shown that security in gated communities is more a matter of perception than reality. For instance, in 2005, the Orlando Sentinel looked at sheriff's reports over a four-year period on 1.400 Florida homes in both gated and ungated communities that were similar in price and location. The newspaper found nearly identical rates of burglaries and stolen cars in each.

The gates weren't much of a deterrent because they were often easy to get around or were left unlocked; and burglaries and thefts occurred even in communities were gates were manned. In some cases, access codes were widely known because residents regularly gave them to guests and workers who cut lawns, killed pests, walked dogs, cleaned houses and delivered pizza. Similarly, an analysis of national crime statistics done last year by University of Florida criminology student Nicholas Branic found that living in a gated community does not significantly influence a person's likelihood of victimization.
Although gated communities are often associated with celebrities and the wealthy, many spectacular homes in iconic upscale places such as Beverly Hills, Calif., Palm Beach, Fla., and Newport, R.I., are in ungated subdivisions. Conversely, developers often gate developments in sketchy neighborhoods to improve sales or rentals; homes there may well be worth less than similar ones in better surroundings. So it's not necessarily true that residences in gated communities are more valuable than ones that are not.

[macrodome2]

We're in a gate community and one thing people haven't mentioned is people off the street using the amenities without the gate. When we moved in the builder was still building so the gates were open during daylight. As a result we had random people wandering in and helping themselves to the pool and hot tub. Once the gate was closed that stopped.

[d4g4m]

Gated, guarded, house security, garage lights, front door lights, rear lights, motion sensors, stadium light. Do you sleep with one eye open?

[upgrader]

Valid point! I live in a "con-dough". Original developer put the community pool near the street, with no fence or gate (better to sell condo units). After years of pool trespassing, and even truants leaving bicycles in the pool, we got a fence (well it took two fences to get it right), and an unguarded remote controlled gate, to rectify that problem.

Originally Posted by macrodome2

We're in a gate community and one thing people haven't mentioned is people off the street using the amenities without the gate. When we moved in the builder was still building so the gates were open during daylight. As a result we had random people wandering in and helping themselves to the pool and hot tub. Once the gate was closed that stopped.

[OptimusPrime69]

I want trump to build a wall around my gated community and I want everyone living around my community to pay for it!

[MsVaslovik]

Originally Posted by BucFan

but you won't have unwanted people just willy-nilly cruising the streets looking to be mischievous, trashing the streets, being loud, etc etc.....don't like gate communities, don't live there.....I'm happy in mine - have been the last two communities I've lived.

Oh gee, I'm not so sure about that, given some of the gate guards I've come across. And FYI, I don't live in one of those places because I don't think they are worth it if you are paying for security in an exclusive neighborhood. I've no trouble at all with that where I live, so why shuck out all the extra bucks for an illusion? And trust me, it IS an illusion.

[upgrader]

At least in Tampa, conveniently located areas aren't in uniformly good areas. South Tampa isn't Scarsdale.

I hate the idea of gated communities. But in our current world, a gate limits trespassing. Having bubba man the gate strikes me as a waste of community money. To me, the sad compromise is a remote controlled gate (with visitor key codes that change every month), and a personal security system for your own domicile.

Originally Posted by expatCA

Gated communities, manned or unmanned, give a false sense of security. Usually they are in good areas and the homeowners have security systems, so more bad guys stay away in any event, Unmanned or even no HOA type development are usually just as safe, if in a good area. I would rather pay for my own security system and have cameras mounted than depend on a gate guard. The biggest difference might be in child safety as it is harder to grab a child as the level of security goes up.