Buenavista fracc.

Jaja.......my Chihuahua and Pitbull team work well too. The Chihuahua has ears bigger than his head and can hear a pin drop 2 blocks away. He alerts his buddy who waits at the door in stealth mode.

Great description CBob. I keep telling my girls, they don't have to bark. Just kill whoever comes over the wall. They believe in an early warning siren system.

What I meant by panels and hinges. Most residential garage doors are bi-fold. See URL for an example http://ajijicrentalsandmanagement.com/rentals/lindquist/. In the picture, this garage door has 2 bi-fold doors for a total of 4 panels. If you take a crow bar and place it under a panel and pry up - if the panel is not protected - it will pop off the hinge and you now have a way to walk into the garage. Our property manager, at my request, had her handyman weld some braces to our door - hopefully a thief will move onto an easier target.

If you have concerns that someone can pop open your garage doors, then the option is to purchase automatic electronic locks that will secure the doors after they close. The doors cannot be opened. A thief will have to go over the wall to gain entry.

Great to see all the replies to my original post even though they morphed a little.  It was interesting to read the post about one person not able to get out of her secure house.  We have a home in a Mexican neighbourhood in Mazatlan which was broken into while we were house hunting lakeside last year.  We beefed up security when we got back home.  One thing to keep in mind in our fortresses is how do you get out in the event of a fire?  Do you have  a plan?

Fires do happen but very rarely in my experience here. What's gonna burn? Concrete, clay tile, stone... even the wiring is through a conduit in a solid wall.
Faulty gas tank explosion is a possibility but, even then, fire is not going to consume the building in the aftermath.

I guess after my little adventure on Monday night, I should add the care and maintenance of locks to my list ;)

From my experience I would say the best theft deterrent is to be a good neighbor to both your expat neighbors and the Mexicans you encounter here. A little respect to your Mexican workers in your home is the cheapest theft insurance policy you can buy. That also applies to being a good neighbor with the other expats.

I've heard it on other threads as well; the notion that having dogs is good theft protection, but I have some doubts there.  Looking at it from the thief's POV, I'd plan to carry a "dog stopper".  Many possibilities, and most would end that form of home protection.
I think that walls, bars and locks are the best plan.

One other thing:  Don't give your keys out.  You can't know who else has access to them. Friends were cleaned out of their valuables by their trusted maid's gangbanger son and friends.

Hmmm. In our 13 years there, we never had any expat neighbors at all. Our neighbors were all Mexicans. We did have a maid and gardener and it was very convenient for them to have keys. They could come and go, even if we were not home & look after our place when we went away on vacation. We never did have any thefts or break-in problems at home, but did find a wheel and tire missing from the front of my SUV parked at the side gate of LCS in Ajijic at noon one Thursday in 2003; stolen in the rain with no pedestrians about. They did leave me a nice wooden block, supporting the front of the car.

gringal wrote:I've heard it on other threads as well; the notion that having dogs is good theft protection, but I have some doubts there.  Looking at it from the thief's POV, I'd plan to carry a "dog stopper".  Many possibilities, and most would end that form of home protection.
I think that walls, bars and locks are the best plan.

One other thing:  Don't give your keys out.  You can't know who else has access to them. Friends were cleaned out of their valuables by their trusted maid's gangbanger son and friends.

I agree somewhat on the dogs. They won't stop a professional however they will deter an opportunist who has the choice of either a house with no dog or a house with that mean looking pit bull going nuts at the door.

ferret wrote:Fires do happen but very rarely in my experience here. What's gonna burn? Concrete, clay tile, stone... even the wiring is through a conduit in a solid wall.
Faulty gas tank explosion is a possibility but, even then, fire is not going to consume the building in the aftermath.

Contents are going to burn......
like the house a couple of doors down from Gossip's restaurant on Javier Mina that left nothing but a shell.  There are fires in big hotels and other buildings, that are structurally steel and concrete, all the time.

In 21 years in Mexico, I've never experienced theft either. Except for once, on the coast, when a small portable generator was lifted and that was my fault for leaving a door unlocked. My bad.
As far as dogs are concerned, they should be considered an early warning system. I do not leave mine outside at night or when I'm not home. That is for their safety.
I do agree with Gringal about being careful about handing out the keys. Nobody has mine except for my next door neighbour.
If you have a remote for your car, then keep your car keys close to your bed. Nothing like a car alarm to make any intruders leave the scene quickly.
You have to be a good friend to have a good friend. Same for neighbours.

@Slainte. Yes, I said fires do happen. They are a regular occurrence in the newspapers NOB. Not so much here. I also remember the fire at Daniel's Jewellry. That was a nasty one. That's two in 6 years that I know of... are there others?

Dogs work to deter.. One night I was at the computer and felt someone was watching me or maybe I heard a noise, don´t know . I had two Neapolitan mastiffs at the time and those guys do not bark but attack without a sound. . I saw the dogs on the alert so I put them outside.
The next morning my neighbor told me that someone entered his year and knocked at the door asking them to open the door because they were lost and need to call someone.Keep in mind we are surrounded by high walls.. I figured someone was on the roof of the casita when the dogs acted, up.. They never barked but no one entered either, they just went to the neighbor.
Now we have a Chihuahua and they are the best at warning you someone is in the yard, mine does not respond to food and will stick around barking at a stranger so there is no surprise...

brigitte wrote:Dogs work to deter.. One night I was at the computer and felt someone was watching me or maybe I heard a noise, don´t know . I had two Neapolitan mastiffs at the time and those guys do not bark but attack without a sound. . I saw the dogs on the alert so I put them outside.
The next morning my neighbor told me that someone entered his year and knocked at the door asking them to open the door because they were lost and need to call someone.Keep in mind we are surrounded by high walls.. I figured someone was on the roof of the casita when the dogs acted, up.. They never barked but no one entered either, they just went to the neighbor.
Now we have a Chihuahua and they are the best at warning you someone is in the yard, mine does not respond to food and will stick around barking at a stranger so there is no surprise...

I think we are speaking of "opportunistic" as opposed to professional thieves. Of course the former would prefer a house with no dogs. The latter come prepared. Which wins: the dog or the gun? Gun's bound to be faster.

slainte39 wrote:

ferret wrote:Fires do happen but very rarely in my experience here. What's gonna burn? Concrete, clay tile, stone... even the wiring is through a conduit in a solid wall.
Faulty gas tank explosion is a possibility but, even then, fire is not going to consume the building in the aftermath.

Contents are going to burn......
like the house a couple of doors down from Gossip's restaurant on Javier Mina that left nothing but a shell.  There are fires in big hotels and other buildings, that are structurally steel and concrete, all the time.

Devastating fires happen here, I was at the firehouse in Joco one day and the guys had been to a horrible fire the night before where several members of the family died - including a tiny baby whose charred body they had to search for amid the ashes. I don't have to tell you how overcome with grief these guys were. I saw the pictures and was baffled as to why the family couldn't get out in time even though they were asleep when it started.

Few people burn to death, rather they are killed by smoke inhalation from the raging couch and curtains while they search to find a way out in the darkness and smoke. As someone else said, have a plan. Picture a fire starting in your garage with your car and where would you go to get out? Front door, probably not. What if it started in the kitchen, how would you get out then? Or the back of the house? Think it through and have at least some sort of a plan.

Stay safe. Prevention, fire extinguishers and smoke alarms are all something we should all have.

This is a good thread, where can I get a smoke alarm?

Would somebody please tell me the number of fires that occur here per year (include the entire north shore) and what the cause was. I would like a perspective because we all know that when they do happen they are devastating.

ferret wrote:But a gun is noisy and one going off is the same as an alarm. I LOVE the difficulty of getting a gun here. Not saying there aren't any around but probably not many.

How about a tazer? Or a silencer, or, or, or? When I hear about the level of violent crime in Mexico, I figure that anyone who wants a lethal weapon seems to be able to get one.

Back in CA, nearly everyone set a real alarm before leaving our houses. There were fast response companies. Here, we're on our own, so we do what we can. I think the major usefulness of dogs is their good companionship.

I believe Walmart has smoke alarms, TR.

ferret wrote:Would somebody please tell me the number of fires that occur here per year (include the entire north shore) and what the cause was. I would like a perspective because we all know that when they do happen they are devastating.

Go up to the firehouse and ask Enrique the chief for the stats for all the areas. Only then will you have a correct answer.

CanuckBob wrote:I believe Walmart has smoke alarms, TR.

Thanks CB, I will go check.

A carbon monoxide detector would be a good idea too... especially if you use a propane heater.

ferret wrote:Would somebody please tell me the number of fires that occur here per year (include the entire north shore) and what the cause was. I would like a perspective because we all know that when they do happen they are devastating.

I'm sure the bomberos in each Municipio have good records on the number of residential and commercial, areas, where they have records of fires they respond to, if you want to know those statistics.....as I don't have them.
About 2 months ago a lady, well known to many in this area, that lives in Chula Vista, had a fire start in her garage that completely destroyed her vehicle and caused great damage to the garage, and smoke and water damage to other parts of the structure, including wiring that had to be replaced extensively and left her without power for some days.  It occurred in the night and neighbors saw the fire and called the bomberos and they arrived, and controlled the fire from spreading completely through the house.  Due to the neighbors alertness she was able to get out quickly before the smoke reached her bedroom and escaped any harm to herself.

Yes, it is an all masonry type construction and to date they have not determined the cause.

The source of the fire must have been the car, Slainte, no?
Car fires happen frequently, in fact I just took my car to the shop to investigate the cause of the smell of gas so I wouldn't have happen to me what happened to that poor lady.

If you want the best theft protection get a Belgian Malinois. Smart, loyal, athletic, and powerful.
>> End of thief. >>> End of story.

Kiko, you forgot to mention mischievous, loving and endearingly comical.

Speaking of dog protection, when I leave the dogs in the car, I always say "Be good dogs. Don't let anybody in the car." Kind of a throw-away line. I was getting gas at Pemex when the attendant opened the passenger door to reach across the car for the gas-cap key. Sam, the dear departed Corgi, came over the back seat snarling. I didn't know he was paying attention.