[beady]

Talking with some folks today and the subject of alarm systems came up. Is it something we should be thinking about. Any advise or thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers, beady

[villager99]

best anti-burglary system is locked doors and windows.
to date most home invasions in tv have been through open doors. often while folks were at home but pre-occupied.

[nanci2539]

That kind of bothers me! Are these day time break ins?

[nhsnowbird]

We have an alarm system in our home in NH and we asked our salesperson about alarm systems in TV. His response was that they were not needed because TV really is a secure environment. I don't know if that was realtor "talk" or if that is true.

Pat

[villager99]

i do feel safe in tv but i keep my doors and windows locked unless i'm sure to be insight of them something i never did when living in portland, maine.

[pjmoro]

I love The Villages but we were robbed on a Sunday morning while at church. Doors were locked, they came in through my sliding glass door, forced the lock. Neighbors were home no one saw anything. Now have a Brinks system. Pat

[JUREK]

pjmoro:
Sorry to hear about your robbery. Now I don't feel so safe, How much for the Brinks system,
just ballpark figure :dontknow: :dontknow:

[pjmoro]

Depends on your house size, how many doors, how many rooms, etc. Typical install is about $100 with a three year contract for Brinks monitoring @ $30 - $40 per month. That should get you a discount on your house insurance. There is no need to feel unsafe, make sure your neighbors pay attention to what's going on in your area. The day we were robbed there was an open house on the next street. Just be alert.

[bestmickey]

This is also another reason to have a storm door on your main entry, with screens to allow for breezes to flow through home. Those screens that just slide up or to the side don't have locks to my knowledge, while a storm door will have locks.

I'm not yet in TV (will be there starting next summer). Just wondering if there have been recent break-ins which caused this thread. Can you advise?

Thanks!

[beady]

Oh, so sorry to hear about the break-in.
I posted the thread because I just wasn't sure about leaving the house for vacations etc, had no idea that just being out for church might be a problem. We come from a small town in NH, locking doors is not a priority, except for long absences.
When we were house hunting in early September I did notice how easy it was to get in and out of some neighborhoods. The guards on duty at the entrance gates most always just waved us on, during the afternoon we forgot our pass key.
The brinks system "pjmoro" mentioned seems reasonable. May do it just for the peace of mind.

[JUREK]

pjmoro: Thanks for the update. I do feel very safe in TV but we know there are crooks everywhere. The system you describe seems like a good deal. I also agree it is good to have good neighbors. I have 2-3 that keep an eye on the place when we are north. Don't know what I'd do without them :bigthumbsup:

[nanci2539]

Would you say the people doing the break in's are non-TV residents? Are we talking kids from neighboring towns or seasoned crooks!

Any violence associated with these robberies?

[bestmickey]

I just know that I'll do everything I can to be secure. I live alone and certainly don't want any strangers in my home especially while I'm there. I'm careful now, but where I am there is no worry about having the windows open, even downstairs. Very sorry to hear that's a problem in TV. Guess I'll only be able to keep the windows open a few inches, and have a security post sitting on the top of the window, so it can't be opened any farther. Looks like everyone should have a security lock for the sliding doors as well. There are locks on the market. It's that, or place a broomstick handle in the track of the sliding doors.

[cabo35]

Sorry to hear about the break in. We use an ADT system. It costs us about $37.00 a month. We've had it for about a year and have been satisfied. The house has ADT alarm stickers all the way around. We had a small, attractive 8" octagonal shield that clearly said ADT on the front lawn but the neighborhood patrol made us remove it. I think the detertent effect is important and would like to appeal to the Village Watch to use common sense and allow small signs that announce electronic security and protection especially in light of the fact that there have been recent break-ins. The best alarm system is a good neighbor who will promptly report suspicious activity even though it may turn out legitimate.

[Frangyomory]

Just for edification: I don't want to scare anyone away from the Villages because it is a wonderful place to live. But, we recently had the Sumter County Sheriff come to our Tall Trees Ladies Club meeting to discuss neighborhood watch due to the break-ins...which happened a few months back in Tall Trees on a Sunday while folks were at church. The homes were very near a main entrance and exit from Tall Trees.

He advised us that while the Villages is a "reasonably" secure environment, it is NOT a gated community. It is a semi-gated community. We only have guards at the older locations. Card pass gates at other village locations and we cannot deny access to anyone as these are county roads. Yes, we have security cameras at every entrance location but cameras only help solve the crime, not prevent it.

We are attempting to start a neighborhood watch but without the assistance of the developer. They want us to pay to rent a meeting room to have all Tall Trees residents attend a meeting to develop such a program. One more time when money talks even though this would be for the GOOD of the community, they want our ladies club to pay to rent a meeting room. Right now, we are thinking about having a meeting at the pool which would not cost us anything.

While I feel reasonably secure here in our courtyard villa, our windows and all doors are always locked even when we are home. We are also fortunate to be on a corner with a street light at the end of or driveway. It is not wise to leave a window open with the screen down unless you are actually in the room or have a dog. I tease my husband about not breathing fresh air much, but actually it is a safeguard against someone cutting a screen. We also have 2X4's cut to fit our sliding glass doors so that they cannot be forced open.

I have friends who have special lights on motion detectors and they seem to work fine. Some people have installed ADT.

Cops told us that the only real security is neighbor watching out for neighbor and paying attention to what is going on in your neighborhood. They told us if it looks suspicious, call 911; if you hear strange noise in the night, call 911. All simple logic.

They did say however, that almost all the crime in the area comes from outside the Villages. My only concern is when they finish development around Brownwood and people who live in Wildwood (a higher crime area) will have access to the downtown and surroundings.

I love it here and as I said, I feel secure but I make sure I close the garage door behind me and keep windows and doors locked. That is the best way to safeguard your home.