Security Costs at Casa Linda

[Ecoman1949]

The average monthly pay for a security guard from one of the companies here is $RD22,000/mo. Do the math.

Having security guards doesn’t guarantee your house or condo is safe from break ins. Some residents do okay with no security. Others don’t. Two of my friends have houses in the campo in a community that was gated and secure but is not anymore. One house is occupied full time, has good exterior night lighting, and bars on the doors and windows. The owner has never had a problem. The other house in the same community is in a remoter area with no lighting, has bars on the windows and doors, and is unoccupied for long periods of time. It has been broken into several times. Visibility seems to be a key component. I’ve seen so called security guards who were very young, obviously not trained well, asleep in the entry kiosks during the day, or having a social gathering with their friends in the kiosk area. Many are unarmed. Very few are uniformed. You get what you pay for and cheapie cheapie doesn’t cut it when it comes to security. One of the best areas I’ve seen security wise is Lomas Mironas between Sosua and Cabarete. It’s a well run gated community run by a European couple. A place I’d feel comfortable living in and leaving my house vacant for periods of time.

 

[chico bill]

Having security guards doesn’t guarantee your house or condo is safe from break ins. Some residents do okay with no security. Others don’t. Two of my friends have houses in the campo in a community that was gated and secure but is not anymore. One house is occupied full time, has good exterior night lighting, and bars on the doors and windows. The owner has never had a problem. The other house in the same community is in a remoter area with no lighting, has bars on the windows and doors, and is unoccupied for long periods of time. It has been broken into several times. Visibility seems to be a key component. I’ve seen so called security guards who were very young, obviously not trained well, asleep in the entry kiosks during the day, or having a social gathering with their friends in the kiosk area. Many are unarmed. Very few are uniformed. You get what you pay for and cheapie cheapie doesn’t cut it when it comes to security. One of the best areas I’ve seen security wise is Lomas Mironas between Sosua and Cabarete. It’s a well run gated community run by a European couple. A place I’d feel comfortable living in and leaving my house vacant for periods of time.

Except Brent Simpson was killed and butchered there and he was the 2nd I am aware of killed in Lomas Mironas. Granted Brent's murder was an inside job but several tenants who rented his villa were robbed by people coming over the wall from El Choco Rd

 

[George101]

Okay so my understanding. it is obvious this little neighborhood of Casa Linda has only 8-12 security gaurds MAX. Based on responses to this thread, the property management has 73 security in total. About 60 of them must not work in the area I'm looking at. The cost should be around $10K and the administration is taking an extra $20k to pay for their personal and unauthorized expenses outside the community, such as at their development sites, at their restaurant, guarding their offices and managing over 100 of their employees both internal and external employees. Also since their charging similar security fee at another development with over 100 properties with over $20k usd I did not include since it is irrelevant, as irrelevant as saying there are 73 security guards in this small community of about 131 houses.

 

[cruzan1]

Hi All,
The truth is that Residencial Casa Linda has a total of 73 security officers.
The HOA fees, that varies from approx. US$ 205-300/month depending on the size of the villa, cover also 6 days a week garbage collection, common area lights and cleaning. In addition the HOA fees cover the costs of generators, and the maintenance of the whole subdivision.
For your information the HOA fees in 2014 was US$ 290/month independent of the size of the villa. During the period from 2015-2019 the salaries in The DR have increase with approx. 100%. The average HOA is now is approx. US$ 250/month.

Eric, thank you for this post. It's nice to see good information posted on this board from time to time.

 

[George101]

Eric, thank you for this post. It's nice to see good information posted on this board from time to time.

I'm having trouble seeing the good information. Is this a joke? Is he talking about Dominican HOA's or foreign operated HOA's? His personal salary and those of his foreign partners or the actual born Dominicans? is the community really being charged for 73 security working in the little community when only 12 are needed.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

I too am assuming that the OP and the poster person identifying themselves as a community representative are referring specifically to the one main location that we know as Casa Linda (El Choco Rd).

I too find the claim of 73 security personnel at that location as a matter of routine to be an inflated number, or at least one with a very loose definition of "security personnel". The cost presented by the OP would be the highest monthly bill I have heard of for standard security services anywhere within the Sosua/Cabarete area except possibly in Seahorse Ranch but I have no numbers on what their security costs, only a general price for the total monthly fees there.

I am not aware of any sort of alleged out and out dishonest behavior on the part of the admin for the various Casa Linda communities. In fact, I have spoken with quite a few owners who seem quite happy with the status quo and the admin in this community. Any potential resident in Casa Linda should take a few of the comments expressed in this thread to heart when deciding where to rent/buy in this country.

The marketing pitch for Casa Linda is well honed over time and offers many incentives to lure potential buyers to the community. Casa Linda provides lots of additional services in-house to sweeten the pot so to speak. There is a local shuttle bus service, on onsite restaurant and a complete rental/management division to look after and rent out properties when the owners are not in their homes. These and other offered services appeal to many current and potential customers.

Just like when buying a refrigerator, the purchaser needs to do their homework and see that what is offer at one location for $xxx.xx may possibly be had elsewhere at a better price or with better service options. There is nothing wrong with Casa Linda or any other community charging monthly fees to cover expenses. Those living in these communities that employ a fee structure need to know that the legalese in their purchase agreement binds them to these payments forever and acceptance of a set of rules governing many aspects of owning and living in a particular community. Both sets of stipulations can and are changed at regular intervals.

Not every life decision comes down to the base cost all the time. This is just one factor that a consumer considers. The bigger picture at play is that residents of some of these gated communities do not have much say over the future costs to them to live there or the implementation of new rules that were not in existence at the time they signed their purchase agreement. Things binding agreements can and do change. Casa Linda is a money making venture and anyone who chooses to deal with a for profit entity already knows that what they are paying for includes a markup to generate profit for the company.

Due to limited choice in some areas and a compete lack of enforceable laws and regulations, these communities are pretty much free to charge for and do whatever they want, when they want. As the company's costs go up, so do the charges passed on to the residents. How much of a revenue surplus is generated each month is something the company decides for itself, not the other way around.

For some Casa Linda meets their needs. For others, it does not and they live elsewhere. Kudos to the OP for questioning some aspects of Casa Linda's operating costs and for that they now know that at least in this one area the monthly cost passed on to residents seems to include a profit margin for the administration over and above what the actual cost for security services is in this community. Since this seems to be the case for security services, maybe one could correctly assume that there are other areas where the monthly fees include a mark up. Nothing wrong with the admin doing this by the way, just that it would be nice for those who have to pay these fees to understand how the monthly fees are derived going forward. The fees at the moment appear to be reasonable and affordable to those who buy/live there today. Should the future dictate that the company needs to charge more to stay solvent, the reality of ownership and continued residence in any of these gated communities might become a concern for some.

Nothing ever seems to get cheaper over time. As the DR population trends change and depending on how well these communities are managed and their level of risk exposure to the financial realities in this country, the costs today might not be the costs tomorrow + the inflation rate.

 

[Ecoman1949]

Except Brent Simpson was killed and butchered there and he was the 2nd I am aware of killed in Lomas Mironas. Granted Brent's murder was an inside job but several tenants who rented his villa were robbed by people coming over the wall from El Choco Rd

I was aware of Brent’s murder. Didn’t know about the second one. Looked at Villas in that area twice over ten years. Security was light on my first visit. Much better security on my second visit. There was also a problem at the stop sign exiting on to the main road to Sosua. Drivers were robbed at gunpoint there several times. No place is perfect and you have to take many more precautions and not just rely on security.

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

I too am assuming that the OP and the poster person identifying themselves as a community representative are referring specifically to the one main location that we know as Casa Linda (El Choco Rd).

I too find the claim of 73 security personnel at that location as a matter of routine to be an inflated number, or at least one with a very loose definition of "security personnel". The cost presented by the OP would be the highest monthly bill I have heard of for standard security services anywhere within the Sosua/Cabarete area except possibly in Seahorse Ranch but I have no numbers on what their security costs, only a general price for the total monthly fees there.

I am not aware of any sort of alleged out and out dishonest behavior on the part of the admin for the various Casa Linda communities. In fact, I have spoken with quite a few owners who seem quite happy with the status quo and the admin in this community. Any potential resident in Casa Linda should take a few of the comments expressed in this thread to heart when deciding where to rent/buy in this country.

The marketing pitch for Casa Linda is well honed over time and offers many incentives to lure potential buyers to the community. Casa Linda provides lots of additional services in-house to sweeten the pot so to speak. There is a local shuttle bus service, on onsite restaurant and a complete rental/management division to look after and rent out properties when the owners are not in their homes. These and other offered services appeal to many current and potential customers.

Just like when buying a refrigerator, the purchaser needs to do their homework and see that what is offer at one location for $xxx.xx may possibly be had elsewhere at a better price or with better service options. There is nothing wrong with Casa Linda or any other community charging monthly fees to cover expenses. Those living in these communities that employ a fee structure need to know that the legalese in their purchase agreement binds them to these payments forever and acceptance of a set of rules governing many aspects of owning and living in a particular community. Both sets of stipulations can and are changed at regular intervals.

Not every life decision comes down to the base cost all the time. This is just one factor that a consumer considers. The bigger picture at play is that residents of some of these gated communities do not have much say over the future costs to them to live there or the implementation of new rules that were not in existence at the time they signed their purchase agreement. Things binding agreements can and do change. Casa Linda is a money making venture and anyone who chooses to deal with a for profit entity already knows that what they are paying for includes a markup to generate profit for the company.

Due to limited choice in some areas and a compete lack of enforceable laws and regulations, these communities are pretty much free to charge for and do whatever they want, when they want. As the company's costs go up, so do the charges passed on to the residents. How much of a revenue surplus is generated each month is something the company decides for itself, not the other way around.

For some Casa Linda meets their needs. For others, it does not and they live elsewhere. Kudos to the OP for questioning some aspects of Casa Linda's operating costs and for that they now know that at least in this one area the monthly cost passed on to residents seems to include a profit margin for the administration over and above what the actual cost for security services is in this community. Since this seems to be the case for security services, maybe one could correctly assume that there are other areas where the monthly fees include a mark up. Nothing wrong with the admin doing this by the way, just that it would be nice for those who have to pay these fees to understand how the monthly fees are derived going forward. The fees at the moment appear to be reasonable and affordable to those who buy/live there today. Should the future dictate that the company needs to charge more to stay solvent, the reality of ownership and continued residence in any of these gated communities might become a concern for some.

Nothing ever seems to get cheaper over time. As the DR population trends change and depending on how well these communities are managed and their level of risk exposure to the financial realities in this country, the costs today might not be the costs tomorrow + the inflation rate.

You learned to write but damn sir, id rather be getting a sulfuric acid enema.

 

[frank12]

Brent did not live in Casa Linda, so not sure why that is even in this thread_

Is the OP aware how big Casa Linda is and all of the separate phases?

The place is huge and beautiful. It rivals Sea Horse Ranch. It's stunning!

The houses and neighborhoods, and the landscape are 1st class.

I know a lot of people that have houses inside different phases. They love it.

Wouldn't it make sense to talk to a couple of people that live inside the community rather then trying to get information from strangers here--many who have never even been inside any of the different phases of Casa Linda?

73 security guards; yeah, it makes sense. Think about how huge the place is, how many different phases there are? there has to be 2 to 3 different shifts for the guards, plus extras to fill in for the other ones.

I don't know the owner, I don't know any of administrators, i don't know one single person that works for Casa Linda, but i have met a lot of people who own homes inside there, and they have money, and they have security, and they seem happy!

I like their restaurant too. They have a new pool table there that i have played on that i liked a lot. Oh yeah, I liked their wine and drinks too.

Big Red (my wife), have some Russian friends that have moved into one of the phases and they seem very happy.

The place is growing and adding lots of cool things...Tennis courts i think might be coming? not sure. It was some kind of athletic thing that was supposed to be built inside. Can't remember. Big Red just got back from the DR last night, i'll ask her.

Some of the residents used to come into Jose Oshayæs to watch sports; they seemed very happy with the place as well.

Vær så god, og tak skal du ha!

Frank

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

El Rey, it is really easy to put me on ignore so you do not need to injure yourself.

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

El Rey, it is really easy to put me on ignore so you do not need to injure yourself.

Ignore is a joke. Still have to see the replies. I would rather see your post to like ratio.

 

[frank12]

Why on earth did someone lump Brent's murder--which is from a completely different community--into this thread??

There's a lot of misinformation here.

 

[frank12]

To the OP, it would behoove you to speak to some people who actually live inside the community. Because what I see here is a bunch of people who not only do not live inside Casa Linda, but they have no clue how big Casa Linda actually is. It's huge! The staff must be immense! I would love to know how many Dominicans they employ? It's got to be in the hundreds. All of those Dominicans have families that they are supporting.

NO need to try and trash a place without knowing nothing about it. In 15yrs on the north coast, I have never heard one bad thing about Casa Linda.

I think a lot of people like trashing places that are expensive. It's a sort of, "well, I cannot afford to live there, so why not jump on the wagon and bash the place!" Sea Horse Ranch gets that from time to time. And so does Casa de Campo. In some cases it could be jealousy, envy, heresy, or simply not knowing.

I met a few Norwegians at both Jose O'Shay's & Rocky's Aqua that were staying in Casa Linda. They loved it! But then, Norwegians love any place that has sun, liquor, food, and palm trees.

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

Why on earth did someone lump Brent's murder--which is from a completely different community--into this thread??

There's a lot of misinformation here.

Frank, sometimes conversations rise out of others. As a writer you should appreciate this. You are not a mod in this forum. Stick to your tales of juan the fisherman.

 

[frank12]

Frank, sometimes conversations rise out of others. As a writer you should appreciate this. You are not a mod in this forum. Stick to your tales of juan the fisherman.

Fair enough, but why on earth bring up a murder and robberies that took place in a completely different community??

 

[Big]

Casa Linda is to Sea Horse Ranch , what a food truck is to Elizondo Restaurante

 

[George101]

Fair enough, but why on earth bring up a murder and robberies that took place in a completely different community??

Hi Frank, Sosua one of the safest places in the world. I think you might be confusing The neighbourhood I'm looking at with the one down the street called castaways clubhouse, which is a hotel and residence they operate down the street. Definitely need a car to get to it because it's really far away. Those expenses would be for the owners living in that separate development which is much bigger than the neighborhood I'm looking at called Residencial Casa Linda, it's been here since 1996 I think.

 

[tee]

For your info Casa Linda has 304 completed villas spread out over 9 different phases, 7 under construction with several more starting in the next 10 days. It is the largest and most successful residential community on the north coast and security is a priority and is the major part of the operating costs. Casa Linda is also one of the largest employers in the entire area and if the OP had any inclination of the sheer size of the property and if they had the actual facts then well, we probably would not even had this thread in the first place.

 

[Eric Sandmael]

I'm having trouble seeing the good information. Is this a joke? Is he talking about Dominican HOA's or foreign operated HOA's? His personal salary and those of his foreign partners or the actual born Dominicans? is the community really being charged for 73 security working in the little community when only 12 are needed.

George or whoever you are. It would be great if you stop posting something that you obviously have no clue about. I think it's very bad that you started this thread based on totally wrong assumptions.
Residencial Casa Linda is one of the largest developments on the north coast with currently around 300 villas and with another 150 to be built in phases 1-12. The total area is approx. 620,000m2. So if you can handle this large area with only 12 security officers, it will be a pleasure to contract you.

In addition to the services that I already have mentioned, we also have a free shuttle bus going all day long, 7 days a week to Sosua, Cabarete and the beaches. This service is included in the HOA fees, and also the connection to the generators.
If you still don't believe in what I'm saying, I hereby invite you to come to my office in Casa Linda. There I can show you everything you want to see, including the list of the 73 security officers that we have. Since Cdn_Gringo is also questioning this, you are hereby also invited. I have nothing to hide.

Since it seems to be a lot of misunderstanding regarding the HOA fees, I just want to add how this works:
The HOA fees is meant to cover the cost of the common subdivision expenses, and is NOT going into the pockets of the developers/owners of a subdivision. Any profit has to go to a fund for future maintenance of common areas. This is regulated by the DR laws, which means that no developments can just increased their subdivision fees as they want. For your information Casa Linda had a loss on this part in 2018, and that's why we unfortunately had to increase the HOA fees earlier this year. Last time we changed, in 2015, we even lowered the HOA fees. It's important that you understand that the owners of Casa Linda are on the same page as our homeowners. We both want to keep the HOA fees as low as possible, but have to cover the costs, and also some for a reserve fund.

 

[frank12]

The problem with DR1 is that there is so much misinformation being spread here.

I understand that it happens everywhere, but it needs cleaned up immediately. Lumping a murder into this thread...why? Why do that? Why let it stand? And not knowing how huge Casa Linda is and how many phases there are? Not understanding how many hundreds of employees and staff they have that can be effected by this misinformation. Is that a good thing?

There's a lot of hard working, honest, good Dominicans working there for many, many years. It's not good that misinformation like this gets spread around. But the worst thing here, in my opinion, is allowing a murder that has absolutely nothing to do with Casa Linda to be lumped in here. What purpose does that serve?