I used to live in one, but that wasn't really by choice as much as it just happened to be where the house we liked the most was located. It was one of those things that really was neither here nor there... hit the button on the remote to come in / wait for the gate to open when you go out. House values and specs were comparable to the neighborhood immediately next to ours, which was ungated.

When we moved out our realtor commented that the Mexican nationals preferred neighborhoods with a gate or someone standing around out front. The part of San Antonio we lived in was becoming more popular as a place where the well to do over there would move from in order to escape violence and kidnappings. I used to see nice cars with plates from several Mexican states and D.F. all the time around where we lived.

You couldn't force me at gun point to live in any neighborhood with a HOA or a gate. We have lived in our community for 22 years. Only one breakin and they got caught. I have seen how HOA's work in Cary and Raleigh with all the restrictive covenants. Covenants where I live are you can't subdivide your lot, no mobile homes, cannot rent out home, and no farm animals. I know my neighbors it's quiet and no jerk is coming on my property and telling me what to do.
We have enough rules spewed out by government endlessly.

Once in a blue moon you'll see a HOA that makes sense - limited power, etc. For example, one of my coworkers and almost neighbors is in a HOA... $50/mo fees, used to maintain the shared dirt/limerock road leading back to the 15 houses. Extra funds are collected and saved to have the road paved eventually.. which should be in about 10 years.

After one of my old next door neighbor turned his house into what looked like a Burger King, then replaced the sod with concrete (to park his cars) and turned his garage into an additional room, I can relate to the usefulness of some rules.

Regretfully, some HOA's go to far IMHO.

Right about now, a gated community is looking like a pretty good idea. Our neighborhood is enduring an incredible rash of burglaries. We had five here on Tuesday. These guys - apparently there are at least two teams; a man and a woman and another of three men - hit during the morning and early afternoon, ransack the house, take jewelery, laptops, other things they can walk off with. I'm thinking this would be at least somewhat more difficult to do if the only way into and out of one's neighborhood was through a gate that had a watchman looking after it.

Oh - those burglaries - cops say they're the result of California's court-ordered prison realignment program, which has nonviolent offenders being moved to county lockups, and/or released, to ease overcrowding in the state's prisons. A big mess. But the result certainly has everyone in our neighborhood being very watchful and suspicious of strangers, and has pumped life into the Neighborhood Watch program.

Same here. Am in an HOA right now and on the board of directors but this will be my last one. Just do not need anyone telling me what I can do to the house or which plant I can put in the yard...

I want to live on an island and have a draw bridge.

Just moved out of a gated HOA and I don't plan on ever going back until I'm retired and living in a Golf Community. Too many neighbors with nothing other to do but complain and stir up $hit. I can talk for hours about stuff that happened in that neighborhood.

IMO the gate is nothing more than a false sense of security. I did like the fact that it kept traffic to minimum so the kids could play in the streets without too much concern.

I disagree. I looked at the LA crime map and gated sections of the same neighborhoods had about 5% of the property crime compared to the neighboring non-gated communities. I guess this isn't so much the case if you live in an area that is already very safe. Then gated vs. non-gated of course doesn't matter.

The key is that a gate deters opportunist petty criminals.

- Not easy getting in
- Getting recorded driving in
- Escape route / getting out quickly

The last point is probably the biggest deterrent. There is only a few ways in and out. No burglar likes that. They like to go to places that have multiple escape routes that are close to major roadways. When cops show up to a burglary they often do from several sides to close in on the perp. If you are in a gated place, you will get busted much more likely than in an open area.

G

I'm the Prez of my HOA and my brother is the Treasurer, so we have the power and the money. It's very relaxed and easy going, biggest problem is a few houses that park their boat and trailer in their driveway all summer long.

As long as it is big enough to put a decent sized road course. ;)

What have you been able to do about it?

As a matter of fact, I rather like keeping the riff - raff out of our gated community. The guard is now gone (not worth the expense and effort) but the shack is up and we have automated gates. Keypad is only for guest to dial the resident and does not open a gate. A sensor on the residence vehicles opens automatically. We also have a credit card RFD to scan next to the keypad for our other vehicles, motorcycles or out with others. Police and Fire have access. Paper delivery has an authorized code. All other deliveries and visitors dial on a phone and if we approve, remote operate the gate thru the home phone line. DVR images of all coming and going.

No its not a perfect secluded solution but before all this, we had solicitors and nosey drive-by's. The entire community is fenced but of course anyone of able means could climb it. If not authorized, they can be charged with tresspassing and as noted by signage. What happens, happens but a little deterent today is fine with me.

get this i work at a "gated " community. lets just say we have more votes than anyone. everyone loves us come vote time and gives us lots of oral favors. when we dont vote their way(which we never do), then the pettiness b.s. hoa nazi's flex their lil "luftwaffle" wings and the poo goes down big time. it gets real old FAST!


now the other night my buddy who has had the lil hoa nazis take pictures of his property and vehicles. hes an electrician. typical van with ladder rack. well he attended meeting because he got a nasty gram from them invitation. he went ARMED as PER AZ LAW to the letter concealed. he got a phone call lifted his shirt, and the next thing ya know, it got REAL QUIET. then this sawed off needle richard who was beat up all his life for being a "richard" , finally got some power in his life, dropped the hammer on him and told him he had to remove his ladder rack. actually told another guy he couldnt have diamondback stickers on the window of his vehicles.

i mean come on..............everyone i have known that lives in a hoa decides that they will run for office and there will be "changes". well after a year their commited to the loony bin and on meds after the fubard experience.



never in my life no matter how bad azz a house it is would i live in a freek a zoid hoa. pure lil sawed off needle richards with freeking nazi swastika armbands.


so the bottomline here...........how in the hell does my buddy complete his company biz WITHOUT LADDERS! so they are taking his livlihood away and fining him $165 a month until compliant.


take these stoopid hoa's and shove em where the sun dont shine.



VIVA LA REVOLUCION!

Unfortunately nothing. We don't have the C,C&Rs to effectively fine anyone. We do assess late fees on the dues however. What we found that works well on the monthly dues is we give a month break if they pay upfront for the year. A few people write 12 checks at the beginning of the year and give them to my brother the Treasurer, which seems to work well.

Police/Fire/Medics have their own master keys ("fire-keys"), codes, transmitters, etc.
Plumbers/repair men/etc. usually need a "temp" code given to them by a resident. The reality is that most residents just give them their personal/permanent code for access. FedEx/UPS/USPS/etc. have their own codes/keys (usually just waved-in if guarded).
Have lived in one previously, and they are a PITA IMO. As mentioned, it is little more than security "theater".

Some HOA's (behind gates) can be much more restrictive with their rules, and the dues can be comparatively higher than most non-gated ones. This is usually to cover the additional cost of the gates, maintenance, and repairs due to gate-crashing which happens frequently.

If it's guard-gated, then the dues can be steeper still. Guard-gated, patrolled, on a golf course, with clubhouse, rec-center, and man-made lakes? Prepare to bend over. You better pray nothing catastrophic happens to any of those "amenities" either, as you can/will be hit with a fat "special assessment".

If nothing else, the actual gate itself is a pain for ingress/egress. Not to mention, several gated communities have speed bumps and ridiculously-low, radar-enforced speed limits. No thanks.

The primary benefit that I see with gated communities would be the limiting of solicitors.

YMMV.

Add Santa Clara, CA to that list. Been there, done that, never again.