Add gate to the park entrance

I’m thinking to add a metal to the park entrance because there are teenagers around who drives dirt bikes on the property like crazy and broke the water main before. With the gate, they would not be able to go in. Whay type of gate do you suggest? I’m thinking about the metal type that require keys to get in. Would that be too much trouble for the tenants to get our of their cars every time they go in? But the electric gate is just too expensive. Suggestions?

I have never seen a gated mobile home park unless it is a really nice golf/marina style property. What will keep the kids from riding their dirt bikes around the gate or on individual lots? Managing the gate seems cumbersome. You would have to hand out all of those keys and somehow keep the gate closed. What keeps a tenant from opening the gate and leaving it open? If you put an auto-close mechanism on it I would think the tenants would get upset at having to leave their car to open the gate. Eventually, somebody’s going to rip the gate out of the ground and be done with it or simply drive right through it. What about trash removal, postal & UPS delivery, etc.
How will you manage that? The simple solution is to put some type of cage/screen over your water infrastructure so they don’t destroy it.

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If the teenagers are part of your tenant pool then you need to enforce a rule against motorized toys (e.g. bikes, golf carts etc with a combustion engine). Many HOA’s have this for the same reason.

If you have to put in physical security mechanisms, such as a gate, it has to be convenient or your tenants will hate you forever.

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It’s actually the neighbors kids. My tenants are good. Just the outsiders

It would be much easier to simply have the police contact the indivulaes involved and inform them that if they set foot on your property again they will be charged with trespassing.
Have your manager or reliable tenant inform you when it happens and then press charges. The message will go out and your problems will end.
A gate should be a last resort if trespassing charges/convictions do not work.

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Great idea!! Thank you.

Something happened last night at 1 AM - An outside huge truck went crazy on the park . It knocked over the sign and shredded it into pieces. TORE through the park, almost hit the homes, and almost destroyed the electrical infrastructure. Left deep tire marks on the grass. I think the truck driver was having fun driving through the empty lots. I’m thinking to put a metal chain/fence around the empty lots as I am still working on filling them. This way, no vehicles will driver through the empty lots. What other options do I have other than empty lots? The police was called but no one saw the license plate and nothing they can do. Please help. Thank you in advance!

Gates will drive you and the tenants nuts. Keep reporting to the police. Large rocks by the empty lots will deter vehicles. Good luck

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I personally don’t like gates for two reasons, one , they seem to be open half the time ( and defeat the purpose) , two - they seem to break regularly.

Maybe cement in some 4x4 posts depending on how the park is configuring in a decorative manner with lot numbers on them at the vacant lots ( if this would prevent the issue , or run sections of the vinyl white fence that’s 3 rails to get same desired result.

Is this a rough area or an anomaly? Get some good eyes and ears, this kind of stuff should not happen and would be good to prosecute if someone could have been hit.

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Would you say adding a security camera system is worth it? This way the police can see exactly who did it so that I can start prosecuting. Also what is the estimated cost to prosecute a case like this?

Here in Texas we have some of the worst drivers in the nation. Cant handle snow, ice, rain, or fog, traffic, or tolerate people driving slow in the fast lane. As a result a healthy percentage of people have dash cameras as CYA. The same holds true for your park until you get the community under control.

It might be worth establishing a committee (of sorts) in your park to voice the concerns and issues so that you can keep a pulse of the park and even let them vote on what issue you need to make a decision. If that includes a gate then you can at least say you have their support!

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Hire an off-duty police office for a month–maybe two months but a gate is a total waste of money–you have other problems–are you there managing the park yourself or do you have a manager?

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Agree with @carl. Gate is bound to be damaged and repair necessary again and again.

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We have what I would consider an evil neighbor (a fired manager) who visits one of my properties all the time. He and his kids cause havoc, trespass, become belligerent, bully tenants, and enter vacant homes. We have discussed with the local police and sheriff to issue do not trespass orders and have him arrested. Fact is, as explained by them, is they will not take any action. They have bigger issues and have trespassing calls all the time - mostly for illegal hunters. The judge says unless there is another crime involved, don’t waste our time. Sheriff proceeded to say if I can prove they entered a home (breaking and entering) or vandalized property, then they will begin prosecuting. Moral of the story is, you will have trespassers, and they are difficult to stop. Gates and cameras only waste your time and money and don’t solve the problem. Gathering evidence to prosecute is like a game of spy-vs-spy where you can never win.

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Don’t do a gate.
They are a pain in the rear.
Put up a Camera instead.

Arlo makes a decent WiFi Camera that you can monitor from your phone.

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So how did you stop them at the end?

Security cameras. Your tenants will thank you when they see the news story I’m sure you’ll let the local media write. The judge and sheriff maybe not so much so but you will have evidence and it will send a message to all that trespassing isn’t treated lightly by you.

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