LIFE BEHIND THE WALLS OF A GATED COMMUNITY By Dallas Realtor, Bill Cherry

BILL CHERRY, REALTORS

DALLAS, TEXAS

Our 43rd Year Selling Texas

214 503-8563

I'm not certain when the gated community concept began to take a hold in Texas, but the first time Patty and I owned a home in one was about ten years ago. It was in South Shore Harbour, a community near Houston.

Ours didn't have a guard at the gate, but rather a box that allowed coded access and also for visitors to be able call their host so they could be allowed entrance.

We hadn't bought our home because of the gated community concept, but rather because the builder had done an exquisite job of executing the plans of a very talented architect. However, the more we lived there the more opinionated I became - issues for and issues against - so I took out my legal tablet one day and did the debit and credit bookkeeping. It produced interesting results, results I could have never gotten had we not had a couple of years living there under our belts.

What I did learn and observe was that the gate restricted weekend drivers searching out For Sale signs. So not only did it keep those just beginning their "new city driving around" from getting a feel for our neighborhood, but it also kept them from having an idea as to which agents and companies had listings there. Intuitively I didn't think that was a good thing.

And I then began to notice that homes behind the gates and walls sold substantially slower than those in subdivisions without those restrictions even though both sets were comparably priced.

So, at least in our area, the homes in the gated communities not only didn't bring a premium because of the perceived safety, but they sold slower. So I proposed to our homeowners association that the gates be left open on, say, Saturdays and Sundays. No soap. I was never sure why. There was little to no crime in our city and the police were sure anyone caught speeding was on a crime spree so they would all but follow them around night and day.

I don't know what an acceptable solution is, but I do know that before a prospective home buyer considers purchasing within the seclusion of walls and gates, he might want to take out his legal tablet and enter the debits and credits, and then realistically evaluate what it will mean to him as well as his family's lifestyle, their ability to be gracious to their arriving visitors, how they will handle access by service people, and how their Realtor will be able to market their home should they decide more elsewhere.

Copyright 2008 - William S. Cherry

All rights reserved

Bill Cherry Realtors

Bill Cherry Wikipedia Biography