Pros and cons of guard-gated communities

Q: Can you please tell me the pros and cons of living in a guard-gated community in Las Vegas?

A: There are many guard-gated communities in Las Vegas. I’ve been selling real estate here for 21 years and quite a few of my clients prefer living in them for better security.

Most of them are single-family homes with the majority of them overlooking a golf course such as Spanish Trails, Red Rock Country Club, Canyon Gate, Canyon Fairways, Siena, Rhodes Ranch, The Ridges and Anthem Country Club.

There are a few such as Las Vegas Country Club and Vistana where condominiums are also available.

This amenity will attract some buyers but could put off others who see it as a nuisance every time they need to call and put someone’s name at the gate.

Another disadvantage of guard-gated living is the higher cost of the homeowners association fees, since three different shifts have to be paid daily. In Las Vegas that could be anywhere from $200 up to about $500 monthly in some communities.

I started my real estate career in Beverly Hills and enjoyed showing beautiful homes such as in Bel Air, Calif., for seven years before moving to Las Vegas in 1994. Believe it or not, Bel Air homes valued at about $4 million to $40 million have no guard gates. Bel Air and other communities in Los Angeles that would normally have guard gates were built so long ago, starting in the 1940s that they didn’t consider having them.

It’s not even gated with a transponder or remote from your car so anyone can drive in there. However, many estates have their own gates surrounding them with state-of-the art security.

Every city is unique to itself.

Suzanne Einhorn, Real Estate Broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Nevada Properties