Many of my clients, particularly the out state folks, list as a requirement a guard gated community when searching for a home. Scores of communities in this area have guard gates but all are not equal in terms of the protection these gates provide.
Some communities have a 24 hour guard gate with no other access. Anthem Country Club would be an example of such a community. Many guard gated communities, however, have both guard gates as well as electronic gates. These are generally less secure. Best example I can think of is Siena, a guard gated age restricted community in the southern part of Summerlin. They have a highly trafficked electronic gate on Tropicana as well as a guard gate on Town Center. I have watched many cars “piggy back” in, following a resident through the electronic gate.
In addition, some of the smaller guard gated communities elect, as cost saving measure, to not to have a guard in place for usually some of the evening hours, relying on electronic access. One additional complication is that if a community, Los Prados would be an example, has guard gate access only, and has video poker, or any form of gambling in any of its common area facilities, access cannot be denied, by law, to the public.
Other factors to consider may be how high are the fences surrounding the community as well as the crime rates for the area. You may conceivably be safer in a non-guard gated community in a lower crime rate area than in a guard gated community in a high crime area.
So for prospective buyer’s to establish that a community has a guard gate should just be the first step in determining how safe that community may be.
