Any experiences of living on a gated development?

[aliteralAIBUforonce]

Going to view one and wondered what they're like to live on?

Ask what happens with post and deliveries.
I wanted to hand deliver a quote to a customer in a gated development and couldn't work out how!

Yup... it has a gate. You drive up to it and it opens. Or an intercom / pin entry if gates aren't on sensors. Nice and peaceful.

My sister lived on one. There was a guard at the gate. Post guy just came thru in his van. You couldn’t just walk in without a code or call from guard.

Ask about the annual fees, some of them can be very high. Also find out how maintenance works are paid for (electric gates break down all the time!)

Bit worried there will silly rules about drying washing and the colour of your curtains.

Good tips!

Definitely check all of the conditions of the property. There can be many financial implications when living in a property on a private road. As others have said, check maintenance/service charge costs. Some can be astronomical and increase regularly.

I live on a gated road. Our main cost is the gate as electric gates need to be serviced etc. It also breaks down every so often and needs to be hand-cranked open. There is also regular landscape maintenance of the communal parts. We pay slightly over €1,000 a year. There aren't any rules that I know of, but there aren't very many houses and they are reasonably far apart so ordinary neighbourly courtesy is enough.

The gate allows delivery people to ring the 'doorbell' of individual houses, this rings my mobile phone and I can open the gate. I have to phone the gate again to allow the delivery driver out. The postman and the binmen know the gate code so they can let themselves in and out.

I didn't choose to live on a gated road, it's just what was available in our budget, but anytime the gate has broken and needed to be left open for a day or two I've been surprised at how much junk mail and door knockers we've had so I'm happy enough to have it.