More Gated Communities coming .........

[Dave]

again u say security, are u sure it is security or a man opening the gate, turning on lights, giving u mail etc?

very few gated communities I have seen actually have a guard

[christopherwilliams2]

too many wanna be gated communities being setup around the country

only as a marketing gimmick for sales



always read the fine print with a lawyer before investing as there are loopholes which you may not be able to get out of

there is a proposal being offered wehre i am at present to convert to a gated community however the bottom line is that not everyone is going to invest in additional monthtly payments especially when we all await the enw property tax

as dave said we pay for a gateman and not a security guard

the existing security company that does patrols and paid for by some residents are a joke

the local police station has formerly said they are strapped for resources and rsident should do as much as they can to protect thier property

but

shoot one bandit and the police all up in yuh house to sieze yuh gun and ammunitation and take you down to the station


its nice however to see a bandit mauled by your dogs in yuh yard from time to time though

I agree with the big dog policy! and SOME residents paying for security?? So what the fees going towards??
A big german shepherd should make a bandit think twice....but I am a bit surprised because that 700. I am paying every month ...if I was living in a normal street could pay for a security system!
I don't understand why the residents not doing something??? I sure dey ent the 'we like it so' type??

[Gladiator]

Dave,

The place was advertised as having 24/7 security patrols. They had this in all their newspaper ads and flyers and the sales reps reiterated this many times.

However as you rightfully said they currently claim that they never were to provide security but just someone to open and close the gate.

However from time to time when things get real bad they hired an armed security company with dogs.... but they only had them for a week or so then they vanished.

In addition to all this, we have to pay the salaries of a "security manager", and "2 security personnel" as stated in the audited accounts.... so they taking the money for "security" but not providing any!!!

[Gladiator]

"I don't understand why the residents not doing something??? I sure dey ent the 'we like it so' type??"

Well the residents had a very active group going, there were lawyers, tech men, lawmen, financial advisers, ex-police, ex-army a nicely formulated and active group of people with good hearts and willing to fight HCL for the rights of the people in there.

However it just took the gall of one or 2 illiterates to go to HCL and say that the group dont represent them and they dont know anything about any group in there and then the entire thing fell apart...

We had it real organized boy, a maintenance dept, a communication dept, a security dept, a extra events dept etc etc...

We had a yahoo group set up to inform everyone about the happenings and we had regular meetings and I personally used to go house to house in the night after work to distribute fliers about meetings and issues etc.

The last meeting was a serious one to discuss the crime, then we formed neighborhood watch groups. I went out and patrolled 2 nights from 2am to 5am with my jeep, a flashlight, a 3 line and a siren.... I never got any company and got orders from the wifey not to go by myself again and play no superhero....

I do hope we can reform the association we had though......

[eliteauto]

I don't even think a dog is feasible in the HCL communities as they have a policy against fencing your property, most places just use landscaping to demarcate their boundaries some (in Millennium Park for example) do fences from the house front edge to the rear so the whole front yard, patio etc is exposed

[crazybalhead]

False status FTL.

[rolandk]

so Roystonia FTW then?

that too far for me...it look nice though but...too far.
buh dey have it lil crime too eh...

there was some organized break-ins a while ago where trucks would pull up to your home and empty it while you were at work.

3 members of the group responsible for it has since been shot dead by police and some others are now locked up.

since then, everything is quiet.

not aware of anything else in the area WRT crime.

Based on how the houses were distributed, the development is supposed to have a police and fire officer residing on every street.................not sure if that translated to what it may have been intended.

[christopherwilliams2]

so Roystonia FTW then?

that too far for me...it look nice though but...too far.
buh dey have it lil crime too eh...

there was some organized break-ins a while ago where trucks would pull up to your home and empty it while you were at work.

3 members of the group responsible for it has since been shot dead by police and some others are now locked up.

since then, everything is quiet.

not aware of anything else in the area WRT crime.

Based on how the houses were distributed, the development is supposed to have a police and fire officer residing on every street.................not sure if that translated to what it may have been intended.

that's interesting...an officer on every street!
It's good to hear that the crime is on the decline...

[christopherwilliams2]

I don't even think a dog is feasible in the HCL communities as they have a policy against fencing your property, most places just use landscaping to demarcate their boundaries some (in Millennium Park for example) do fences from the house front edge to the rear so the whole front yard, patio etc is exposed

is true! but that means that bandit can only enter your front door so technically you can only protect 3/4 your surroundings!

[acesinghit]

I saw this recently, the entrance to Fairways, off Saddle Road, Maraval they have a security guard booth and the gate closes at a specific time maybe around 8-9pm. All those who wish to enter i suppose must have a residents sticker on their vehicle or sumtin so. Coming to think of it, I never heard of any crime from up there and they are right next to La Seiva so Proper Security FTW! All new communities should be like this!! I think Blue Range, Diego Martin is similar to Fairways as well.

[wagonrunner]

I saw this recently, the entrance to Fairways, off Saddle Road, Maraval they have a security guard booth and the gate closes at a specific time maybe around 8-9pm. All those who wish to enter i suppose must have a residents sticker on their vehicle or sumtin so. Coming to think of it, I never heard of any crime from up there and they are right next to La Seiva so Proper Security FTW! All new communities should be like this!! I think Blue Range, Diego Martin is similar to Fairways as well.

Uh how recent is recent?
As of late last year, and all the times prior to that, i've never seen that happen since 2006. There is a booth but no guard. I've never seen the gate closed, (odd hours of night / morning) and there is another very used entrance, with no such features.

A little higher up, there is another "block", (can't remember the name, opposite the hotel on your right) with a guard hut, and a guard.
Entrance is controlled after 9 by a chain which he drops to allow vehicles to pass.

[acesinghit]

^^^yes I actually saw a security guard at both entrances/exits to Fairways but couldn't tell if they are armed or which security firm they attached to. But yeah they close the "gates" at certain hrs since it had traffic on saddle road one night backed up from linda's bakery so I cut thru by the street next to Country Club tower and attempted to drive through fairways through the back entrance and low and behold I couldn't enter since the gate was down. During daylight though people drive through fairways to end up by where Kappa Drugs used to be to avoid the typical saddle road traffic.

[christopherwilliams2]

"I don't understand why the residents not doing something??? I sure dey ent the 'we like it so' type??"

Well the residents had a very active group going, there were lawyers, tech men, lawmen, financial advisers, ex-police, ex-army a nicely formulated and active group of people with good hearts and willing to fight HCL for the rights of the people in there.

However it just took the gall of one or 2 illiterates to go to HCL and say that the group dont represent them and they dont know anything about any group in there and then the entire thing fell apart...

We had it real organized boy, a maintenance dept, a communication dept, a security dept, a extra events dept etc etc...

We had a yahoo group set up to inform everyone about the happenings and we had regular meetings and I personally used to go house to house in the night after work to distribute fliers about meetings and issues etc.

The last meeting was a serious one to discuss the crime, then we formed neighborhood watch groups. I went out and patrolled 2 nights from 2am to 5am with my jeep, a flashlight, a 3 line and a siren.... I never got any company and got orders from the wifey not to go by myself again and play no superhero....

I do hope we can reform the association we had though......

I spoke with the Development manager today...
What i wanted to find out it what exactly the monthly fee provides for. I approached her on the concept of people having expectations to high for their interpretation of a 'gated-community'

She said that every homeowner has to take responsibility for their own security. the patrols are really just observance....they are not armed and merely gatekeepers if you may.
you have to get your own alarm or camera or whatever....


i was wondering how high these fees could go...if there was any limit.
she said that theoretically there is no limit....but as more people join in the development the fees will certainly decrease.

she basically said that the development is not finished ..it's 1/2 way complete in terms of services provided and plots available for sale...so as a result they are still ironing out some issues but expect it to be ok in 5yrs or so.

[AbstractPoetic]

I don't even think a dog is feasible in the HCL communities as they have a policy against fencing your property, most places just use landscaping to demarcate their boundaries some (in Millennium Park for example) do fences from the house front edge to the rear so the whole front yard, patio etc is exposed

Maybe it is different for Millennium Park and other HCL communities but Sunrise Park homes are allowed their own fencing and pets.

[AbstractPoetic]

again u say security, are u sure it is security or a man opening the gate, turning on lights, giving u mail etc?

very few gated communities I have seen actually have a guard

This is true. Residents often have to fight tooth and nail to have 24/7 security. Often times the residents have to come up with their own funds to hire 24/7 security and functional security entrances/exits.

I know this has been a major issue in the past but last I hear the HCL community of Sunrise Park now have better security in place for their residents.

[AbstractPoetic]

Dave,

The place was advertised as having 24/7 security patrols. They had this in all their newspaper ads and flyers and the sales reps reiterated this many times.

However as you rightfully said they currently claim that they never were to provide security but just someone to open and close the gate.

However from time to time when things get real bad they hired an armed security company with dogs.... but they only had them for a week or so then they vanished.

In addition to all this, we have to pay the salaries of a "security manager", and "2 security personnel" as stated in the audited accounts.... so they taking the money for "security" but not providing any!!!

It's my honest hope that with time and effort, The Crossings will become a more secured community. The more residents committed to providing a safe haven for their family, the better.

I'll give it a few more years.

[AbstractPoetic]

that sheit goes on in other gated communites owned by HCL, my aunt and a few others paid cash for their houses in sunrise park some years aback and were still forced to pay maintenance and other fees and still have to cut her own grass etc. The commitee is a joke led by a few fraudsters who cant even afford to pay their monthly installments but they are getting a cut from the fees since their relatives provide some of the services

Uhm, since when does maintenance fees include aesthetic maintenance of one's property?

That's on the owner, not HCL.

[SR]

i doubt

not too long looked at a proposal fto convert a residential area to a gated community with coded automatic gates as well as manned gates and mobile armed patrol

the only way it cn be affordable they need at least 80% participation with a preffered 90% participation

the entire comminity needs to get involved but there are those who wont for either financial or other reasons

[AbstractPoetic]

i doubt

not too long looked at a proposal fto convert a residential area to a gated community with coded automatic gates as well as manned gates and mobile armed patrol

the only way it cn be affordable they need at least 80% participation with a preffered 90% participation

the entire comminity needs to get involved but there are those who wont for either financial or other reasons

I absolutely agree with the bolded, but given the income of most that reside in these communities, what's an extra 1k or 2kTT/month to pay towards 24/7 security?

It's not like folks cannot afford it. I think the problem has to do with many of the owners living overseas. A considerable amount of HCL properties were bought by returning expats and most rent out prior to their return. Tenants are not as proactive as those with families and those that own their property.

[Country_Bookie]

Gladiator,
Is it true that the homes in the Crossings must be insured with Clique-O and the insurance policy contains a clause that relieves them of any responsibility should there be any damage to your home as a result of the foundation?

I've heard this is as a result of the foundation for the homes were some kind of pre-fab foundations, where they were just laid flat on the ground, instead of the usual digging trench, posts supported by steel rods that we accustomed to seeing.

Just asking.

[hustla_ambition101]

IMHO most gated communities here are a damn failure, when you pay for a house in a gated community you should not have to pay extra for security as there should be some restriction at the entry/exit points to prevent non residents from access, any other security that an owner wants should be on their personal wishes such as alarm and camera on their actual premises. I am not going to pay millions for a house plus thousands extra and still not be guaranteed security, might as well go to a non gated one where I have the same damn risks

[Sky]

Best gated Community in T'dad is Laventille.
No outsiders getting to go in. Try nah.
And what they do to each other inside there is none of our concern.

I dunno the crime situation in Santa Monica, but I like that scene. Go and buy your plot and build your own house. The times I pass through there the scene was quiet.

[eliteauto]

Sky, Santa Monica FTMFW, it's one of the communities between Nestle and Arima that I'm interested in along with Valsyn North and Santa Margarita.......... dunno if they have crime issues cause the place is kinda off the radar

[christopherwilliams2]

Sky, Santa Monica FTMFW, it's one of the communities between Nestle and Arima that I'm interested in along with Valsyn North and Santa Margarita.......... dunno if they have crime issues cause the place is kinda off the radar

place is alright on Mausica Road... I would not say it is off the radar...1 minute from Trinicty mall, Pricemart, 30 seconds to the highway, 3 minutes to Arima....

some ok homes there but had a bit of an issue some time ago..last year with some outsiders coming in to play basketball on their steet mounted ring.
they have a community notice board with recent stuff on it so it seems as thought they are a community oriented group...
I still like some level of control of who comes in and out of the area though....i'm not living there but i took a nice drive looking at all the homes...
i guess in a gated community you can control that but only to a limited extent.

[Sky]

Which makes it a bess area. On the outskirts of all the drama, yet so close. The foliage you see there, you won't see until valencia and Grande. Thats how country it is, yet it's RIGHT THERE. Chances are the land there gone up by a lot because of Price Smart though.
Santa Magarita's lovely. But it's too quiet. There is to Curepe like Trincity is to Kandaha (sp). Curepe's bad element goes up there and prey on the locals. If you live there you NEED a car. No walking AT ALL. Especially at dark. The place is too quiet and bad things happen.

[Ben_spanna]

Expect to see more gated communities soon, many residential areas are now fedup of the current crime wave that seems to be sweeping the nation and are in the process of blocking off their areas to the general public.
Goodwood park, Fairways, Ellerslie......... have all done it already and more and more places see this as the only way forward in order to try and protect their families.

Soon you will not be able to go into Bayshore, Glenco and other roads in MAraval....... watch and see.....

[Miktay]

Expect to see more gated communities soon, many residential areas are now fedup of the current crime wave that seems to be sweeping the nation and are in the process of blocking off their areas to the general public.
Goodwood park, Fairways, Ellerslie......... have all done it already and more and more places see this as the only way forward in order to try and protect their families.

Soon you will not be able to go into Bayshore, Glenco and other roads in MAraval....... watch and see.....

Gated community doh mean crime free...

[eliteauto]

some gated communities keep the criminals in

[RBphoto]

Good... can we wall up the Beetham now?

[Cooloh]

Expect to see more people migrating because it have nothing in Trinidad for them and the place too dangerous. But see them wearing more red white and black in 'Merica and preaching how Trinidad is the best place on earth.