Bannister waldorf (HOA, townhouse, neighborhood)

[Pratt225]

Hi im new...Me and my family just purchased a house in bannister...Off of Brightwell...I see alot of bad reviews...Is it really that bad??? We just go to work and come home and mind our business....

[Mom21]

hmmm ... It depends on what you're comparing it to. But rest assured, in answer to your question on the other thread - it is NOT murders. Waldorf doesn't have that many murders -- I think in all of Charles County last year there were maybe 4 or 5 with 2 or 3 in Waldorf proper, and I'm pretty sure none of those were in Bannister. In fact, I'm thinking the # of murders in Bannister in the last 5 years is probably somewhere between 0 and 6. I'm just putting 6 for the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn't be surprised if there were 3 or 4 in the last 5 years and I wouldn't be surprised if there were NONE either.

As for armed robberies -- just be smart. If you walk or jog, don't have those ipod earbuds in your ears -- ipods and cell phones are the robbery of choice in Waldorf these days. Most have been teenagers/young adults robbing other teenagers. Be aware of your surroundings when leaving/returning in the dark. Make yourself a "hard" target. One of the things I have read is that robbers would rather not try robbing someone who is looking all around because they want to catch you off guard. So if you are going in your house after dark, look around you as you're entering your house. Make sure you don't have "burglar bushes" on your property.

Finally, as for loitering -- BINGO! This is probably the #1 problem in Bannister, along with curbside illegal activities. If you encounter problems or suspect illegal activity, the Charles County police just BEG you to call them and they mean it. Attend all your HOA meetings so you can know what's going on in your 'hood. I believe Bannister has a pretty active HOA -- or they did 3 or 4 years ago. Here is the link:
Home (http://www.bannisterneighborhood.com/index.htm - broken link)

[Pratt225]

Thank you so much...Me and my wife just rode through there...we talked to some neighbors and everyone says the samething...It was alot of older people we talked to though....The back of bannister circle looked more "hoodish" than the area we're moving to....

I also emailed the police officer that patrolled there...He said the same thing...mostly loitering...If its just loitering then im fine with that....We live in PG County right now so i see that alot....

Once again...Thanks...We feel alot better...

[BKmachine]

A lot of fake thugs out there, I'd never take them seriously.

[Mom21]

Pratt, as far as the back of Bannister being the more problem area, that's correct. You will amazingly find that's so in a lot of townhouse developments -- the back of the development has a totally different feel and look than the front.