Huge patio window imploded last night during high winds...

gringal wrote:

kiko wrote:I got a real kick after reading some of the 17 replies on the Other Web Board to her thread asking for help.  LMAO

What I get a kick out of is the people who can't bear the idea of bars on the windows, aka "living in a cage".  They don't seem to realize this is a long standing practice in many countries.  It wasn't designed to keep YOU IN, but to keep others OUT.  I'm pleased to see some of the artistic metal work on some places.  My ancient casa has plain old bars on the windows.  If I get some surplus cash one of these days, I'd like to replace them with something more artistic.  Meanwhile, they are very utilitarian and we haven't had a break in, so no real complaints.

Totally agree, how many people do you see standing behinds these "bars" clutching them and screaming for freedom.  I have bars on one door window with glass but I never even notice it.

gringal wrote: What I get a kick out of is the people who can't bear the idea of bars on the windows, aka "living in a cage".

That's not even necessary. I had my welder make bars that open in the middle and lock from the inside. I can open up the bars if I want an unobstructed view. (But I seldom do- the bars are decoratively designed, not like prison bars). People have a hard time thinking outside the box (or the cage, in this case), it seems.

I lived in Mexico for a few years without walls and had no problems until one weekend we went to the beach for three days. When we returned there was a 155' long chain link fence installed across about 1/3rd of my property front to back.

The Cliff's Notes version is a gringo/Mexican lawyer decided he wanted my property so when I was gone he just took it. This family has been stealing land along lakeside for over 30 years and they had most every MP and notario on their payroll.

He filed a complaint on me Monday morning with the MP (on his payroll) after I threw him off my property. I was served by the police on Monday afternoon. We met at the Ministerio Publico on Tuesday. The MP asked if I had an attorney and I said yes and he is sitting in my car outside because I did not think I needed him. I threw down my attorney's business card and the MP looked at it and nodded. I was bluffing since there was no attorney outside in my car.

After the MP read the business card he said this is a gringo issue so the two of you just need to work this out between you. The plaintiff then got this deer in the headlights look on his face.

We then each presented our side of the case. The plaintiff lost. He then promptly left the country for 4 months. Smart move on his part.

I forgot to mention, the attorney whose card I threw down on the table was an attorney from Guadalajara that represented the CJNG in Jocotepec. He heard about the dispute the day before, Monday, and came to my house to "help" resolve the issue. I had told him I thought I could handle this myself but asked for his card just in case later I needed some help. That card came in handy.

I now live behind walls so no one can walk on my property uninvited.

I used to be Kiko's neighbor.  I remember it well, the same fence (well in my case just posts) appeared in my land.  However my area was much smaller than kiko's.  The guy was worried I might "steal" a  5 X 1 meter area that was in dispute between him and our home owners association!!!!

I eventually sold the place as much as i "enjoyed" being Kiko's neighbor (LOL).  Used to hear a lot of "WILD" sounds coming in the evenings.

I now live in a jungle setting in front of the lake (south side).  The winds here are tremendous,,,,last year our steel 150 lb grill with a gas tank in it flew from patio into the side of the house.  Dried palm leaves become rockets fired at the windows and walls.  BUT, I am happier here than living in a place ruled by an HOA.

My first and last experience with a HOA was in Southern CA; a nice place on an artificial lake. The HOA was the final word or what you could do with your house: any additions, changes or paint colors. I like living in a neighborhood now where you can paint your house purple or bright green if you want to. I like that in this neighborhood there a few fine places next door to barely-there little hovels...and we all get along.
After twelve years here in this neighborhood, I've never had cause for worry in taking a few days' trip away to the beach. Maybe I'm just lucky...but wouldn't want to live "behind the walls" ever again.

Yes, I live across the street from Gringal and feel our neighborhood is very safe. The only thing I can recall is a spate of car break ins several years ago. Being that we live in row houses all connected together it would be difficult for thieves to get in. Most have only one entrance which is usually steel. Neighborhoods like La Floresta, Mirasol, Riberas etc. are far more vulnerable with standalone houses.

I can't say it was a factor in buying our place, but luckily we have an off street parking place on the "no parking" side of this one way street. I've noticed that people aren't very considerate about blocking driveways on the other side. Maybe an occasional tow-away would get their attention!

Never lived in a gated or HOA community; over the years we've owned 6 homes in the US and 2 in Ajijic.  

Our working years were in suburban DC settings; since retirement in 2003 our homes have only been in walkable small city/village/town centers.

Our first Ajijic home was few blocks east of Colon, off of 16 de Sept.  Our current home is a few blocks west of Colon, off of same street (aka Independencia).

The downside to row houses is if access is gained to one of them, access can often be gained to many. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The downside to bars is fire. Have an escape plan.

I can't imagine living somewhere where others could dictate what color paint I use or whether I'm allowed to hang my laundry outside to dry.
And as far as I've observed, it's the places that look like a fortress, i.e. there must be something of value to steal there, that are the biggest targets for theft. If your place is modest-looking enough that no one could tell whether a Mexican or a gringo lived there, you're less likely to get targetted. And a good watchdog is one of the best deterents.

Watchdog?  Requires feeding, vet services, walking and picking up poop. IMHO, the only good reason to have a dog is wanting its company, since your basic burgler just has to shoot the dog before going on with his business.

Trailrunner wrote:The downside to row houses is if access is gained to one of them, access can often be gained to many. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

The downside to bars is fire. Have an escape plan.

Well the walls between my property and the neighbors is about 10 feet high so they'll need a ladder. They would then need to circumvent my pitbull and a heavy steel back door. There's far easier opportunities.....

The homes in the HOA that I used to live in were burglarized SO MANY TIMES, it was a bit hilarious. Even different presidents of the same Association got burglarized.

Where I live now, anyone one can enter my land from water or the jungle next door. I have sensors all over the 10000 square meter that let me know who is in and where they are at. Very inexpensive and effective.

On a seperate note,,,,I think I know Gringal. Did I buy a white fridge from you 3 years ago???!!! Small world, if so

Just on a side note, when I designed my metal window and door protection for all of my apartment windows I went with an inside design so not to have corrosion (except for the door). But most importantly, I keep a metal saw handy just in case an earth quake prevents the door from opening.

Alfredo, once someone enters your property and you identify their location through the sensors, what happens next?

HoneyBee wrote:Just on a side note, when I designed my metal window and door protection for all of my apartment windows I went with an inside design so not to have corrosion (except for the door). But most importantly, I keep a metal saw handy just in case an earth quake prevents the door from opening.

Good one. Yes getting out of the property quickly could pose a problem.....

gringal wrote:Watchdog?  Requires feeding, vet services, walking and picking up poop. IMHO, the only good reason to have a dog is wanting its company, since your basic burgler just has to shoot the dog before going on with his business.

Definitely requires feeding, but my dog is 12 years old and has only needed to go to the vet once for any sort of issue. Other than that, I take her in for her shots, in and out in 5 minutes, about $200 pesos once a year. Walking and picking up poop? No. Never. I live in the countryside- she has acres of uninhabited land to use as a bathroom. She's so private about her business, she won't even pee in my yard.
I realize not everyone wants a dog- it's a responsibility for sure. I was just saying that it's good anti-theft insurance. Sure, pro thieves could kill the dog, but your average Mexican thief will pass on places with a barking dog, or other obvious deterents, and opt for the easier targets. Where I lived before, in town, pretty much every house got hit by thieves except the ones with large dogs with ferocious sounding barks. My dog is a pussy who's never harmed anyone or any other animal, but you wouldn't know that to see or hear her.

Using a metal saw to saw through these bars would be anything but quick. Better to do what Mudgirl did, have them made into quick release bars.

Trailrunner wrote:Alfredo, once someone enters your property and you identify their location through the sensors, what happens next?

This has happened when my neighbor's giant dog entered once at 2am.  I hit the remote control switch, it turns out nearly 30 lights and a few g flood lights.  Whatever it is 2 legged or 4 it is usually gone.  Interestingly the sensors tell me which way it/he is heading out (lol)

If the animal is small, it does not trip the sensors.  The worst are the ants, sometimes they enter the sensors and drive me crazy.  But I have a good remedy for that as well.
I have cut trespassers couple of times.  They are surprised how quickly I know where they are.  I also have IR cameras that I installed myself and you can monitor using your phone or PC.  In nearly 7 years not one person have stolen anything.
The way I was raised, if I catch someone stealing equipment , I most likely let them go.  If anyone tries to enter the house, that would be a completely different scenario.

You don't have dogs?

Trailrunner wrote:Using a metal saw to saw through these bars would be anything but quick. Better to do what Mudgirl did, have them made into quick release bars.

I learned the hard way and now my small oscillating saw with the metal blades is INSIDE the house... as is my back up power box (just in case).
The lock on my front door failed and I, literally, had to wait to be cut out of my house. I could have gotten out by opening another door to an interior courtyard and climbing up my ladder to the roof and then to my neighbours but it was easier to call them and use the set of my keys that they have. However, not even he could get it open from the outside.
It is damn near impossible to get into my house.

Same here- damn near impossible to get in. I even have a spare set of keys hidden outside in case I accidentally slam the door and lock myself out.
I had a friend who was housesitting for someone and was outside on a little upstairs balcony, 3 stories up and hadn't bothered to screw down the little knob on the lock that would keep the door from latching if it blew shut, which is exactly what it did. Of course her phone was inside the house. I just dropped by to see her, quite unplanned. She called down to me that she was locked out and directed me to go around the back-luckily she hadn't locked that door before going upstairs. Had I not come by (she'd already been stuck out there for about half an hour) she would have had to start screaming for help- there really weren't any houses super close.
I called her Rapunzel for weeks after.

Alfredo G wrote:I used to be Kiko's neighbor.

I eventually sold the place as much as i "enjoyed" being Kiko's neighbor (LOL).  Used to hear a lot of "WILD" sounds coming in the evening.

Yeah I hear you about the WILD sounds, I should have done a DNA test of my wife prior to marriage but those tests were not available 38 years ago. I did one last year and the results were:

50% Irish
25% Mexican
25% Chupacabra

Just my luck.

mudgirl wrote:Same here- damn near impossible to get in. I even have a spare set of keys hidden outside in case I accidentally slam the door and lock myself out.
I had a friend who was housesitting for someone and was outside on a little upstairs balcony, 3 stories up and hadn't bothered to screw down the little knob on the lock that would keep the door from latching if it blew shut, which is exactly what it did. Of course her phone was inside the house. I just dropped by to see her, quite unplanned. She called down to me that she was locked out and directed me to go around the back-luckily she hadn't locked that door before going upstairs. Had I not come by (she'd already been stuck out there for about half an hour) she would have had to start screaming for help- there really weren't any houses super close.
I called her Rapunzel for weeks after.

All my doors require a key to open to get out AND in but they will not lock on their own. I also have an extra deadbolt on each of the three doors which I engage when I am away from the house.
My lock failed and had to be replaced. JP Home Services sent someone over to cut the barrier bar on the door and Aragon locksmiths arrived within the hour to replace the entire lock mechanism. The locksmiths said they had never seen that happen before.
Yet another learning curve to go through.
The barrier bar prevents the lock from being jimmied from either side... I even tried a flexible grapefruit knife to try and slip it... not possible.