The Good and the Bad in Buying a House in a Gated Community
A gated community is one that residents use one or more main gate(s) to get in or out of their homes. Such communities are geographically labeled on gates or other structures, e.g. “Buruburu Phase one, Nyali court” and such.
Emomeri Maryanne
Advantages of Buying a Home in a Gated Community
- Security
Most gated communities have perimeter walls surrounding the houses, and guards manning the homes on a twenty-four-hour basis. Movement by visitors and other outsiders is limited and monitored. Such communities are free of hawkers and other marketers. Although your security is not totally guaranteed, theft cases are low, and cases of carjacking are unheard of.
- Children’s Safety
Children are often provided with a play area within the estates. Even when they are on the roads, cars are not supposed to exceed a certain speed limit while on such roads. Children are also watched closely and they cannot get out of the main gates without an elder person, hence child disappearance cases are less in such setups.
- Order is Maintained
Whenever there is an issue in the community, people who are tasked with the responsibility of overseeing order is maintained, act quickly to solve the problem. Such people live there and understand their own society. There is also a sense of belonging, whenever a family is in crisis, some neighbours come in and help.
The Disadvantages
- High Cost
Compared to buying or renting a house in other places, to buying a house in a gated community, the latter tends to be more expensive. The gated community often have high-end, beautiful houses that appreciate in value. But when it comes to garbage collection and paying for security, this can be a less expensive consideration.
- Strict Rules
Some people will be offended when their visitors are turned away for some reason, but they will have no control over this. It is also hard for homeowners to extend their houses. While some gated communities allow people to extend the houses to a certain degree, some restrict extensions completely. Hosting loud gatherings will also be hard. One should be prepared for such strict rules when buying such a property.
- Little Privacy
You will not enjoy your right to privacy that much. People will have to know the type of visitors you are hosting. Some family matters will be exposed to the public, especially if that particular community has no personal home fences.
If you can be able to put up with the disadvantages that come with living in a gated community, you will not have to worry about issues like land grabbing.
