Having A House And Burglars In Pattaya

[expatsupreme]

I am in a process of buying a house perhaps. But I am afraid of burglars.

Is there a way you can defend against them?

I mean will security camera do the trick or will the burglar come in and smash the security system and TVs?

Also will the take lcd tv? laptop?

Do I need to buy desktop computer to avoid being stolen instead of having laptop?

What else can they steal?

Do they only go for laptops and phones and ipads?

I would buy a big safe too i saw few of them in tesco

how many percentage of houses do get robbed?

[morrobay]

You could save yourself alot of worry and also be alot more secure with a condo on a high floor.

[candid]

I suggest you start your deliberations whilst sitting on the toilet. Crapping yourself already. From what I have read, you appear too scared to own/live/survive in Pattaya. A CCTV system will not prevent entry, for sure anything which can be picked upand quickly sold will disappear.

Are you sure you are not just having second thoughts and need a reason to pull out of the purchase?

[keith101]

think about deadlocks on all exterior doors and locks for all windows as well as bars and you will feel like your in prison but safe as long as they dont go through the roof .maybe a dog could also help if someone decides to try entry while your asleep .

Edited December 23, 2012 by keith101

[kurnell]

Where are security companies that can install deadlocks/alarms?

[BlackPuddingBertha]

"I am in a process of buying a house perhaps. But I am afraid of burglars.

Is there a way you can defend against them?"

I dont think that there is, at least not 100%. If someone is determined to get into your house they will, regardless of what defences you erect.

A quick search in here should pull up dozens if not hundreds of threads relating to houses that have been broken into and descriptions of what has been stolen and possible deterrents to this happening. A recent thread mentioned them actually stealing the windows in their frames!

There can be little doubt that in a condo one is much less likely to be burgled, or indeed to suffer the many other potential problems of houses here (flooding, termites, other pests and wildlife etc).

As to what proportion of houses here actually do get burgled, I dont think that it would be significantly higher than in many areas of Europe, but personally I wouldn't want to own a house in those places either.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I suggest you start your deliberations whilst sitting on the toilet. Crapping yourself already. From what I have read, you appear too scared to own/live/survive in Pattaya.

Just because some people are cautious doesnt mean they are fearful. In fact it's more likely to mean that they have a brain and know how to use it.

One of my reasons for choosing a condo rather than a house was that I can leave my possessions in the condo when I am not there, even for long periods, without any real risk of losing them. Whilst I dont have much of monetary value laying around (apart from the obvious replaceable things like TVs that are covered by insurance anyway) I do have some things that are irreplaceable and of importance to me and I would not be happy having these in a house here, especially if I was away.

[lonewolf99]

The first thing you got wrong is that you state you are "buying a house" ....not in Thailand your not....you are handing over a pile of money and "perhaps" and more probably will loose it all.

Stick to a condo in your name so you don't have to worry about all the things you listed.

if you are truly a "Supreme" Expat...you would not be asking any of these questions...

[sgunn65]

An interesting name for a post like this. Where on earth do you come from? Burglars are burglars everywhere. The same problems you encountered at home will happen here. Security precautions are the same. The same things are stolen. Surely you have not forgotten your life before?

[Guderian]

Location is your best defence. A stand-alone house on a soi is much more vulnerable than a house in a gated community with reliable security guards. There are plenty of stories about how in some places the security guards themselves will arrange a break-in if and when they know that you are away. You really need to do your due diligence to ensure that your village (if that's where you intend buying) will have good security. Even then you need to take plenty of precautions. Lots of security lights will tend to keep burglars away. A dog or two is also a good deterrent if you can stand them (I can't). A burglar alarm and CCTV will also put potential thieves off, and some people will tell you that they don't even need to be real. Just the sight of a burglar alarm is enough. Solid doors and bars on all the windows are obvious precautions. The roof is the weakest point for a break-in, so ensure that there is no easy way to get up on to it.

If you're buying a stand-alone house then I know people who have an arrangement with the police. You pay them 2000 Baht/month and a cop comes by every night and signs a book you keep outside. Apparently just the sight of a uniformed policeman coming and going regularly is enough to put the burglars off. I know one guy who's been dong that for many years in a house off Third Road, and in all that time he's never had a problem. The cop will give you his phone number just in case there ever is a problem.

Finally, you worry to much about a few personal possessions which can easily be replaced if they are stolen. Much more important is to ensure the safety of yourself and your family. Up to you.

[OMGImInPattaya]

"I am in a process of buying a house perhaps. But I am afraid of burglars.

Is there a way you can defend against them?"

I dont think that there is, at least not 100%. If someone is determined to get into your house they will, regardless of what defences you erect.

A quick search in here should pull up dozens if not hundreds of threads relating to houses that have been broken into and descriptions of what has been stolen and possible deterrents to this happening. A recent thread mentioned them actually stealing the windows in their frames!

There can be little doubt that in a condo one is much less likely to be burgled, or indeed to suffer the many other potential problems of houses here (flooding, termites, other pests and wildlife etc).

As to what proportion of houses here actually do get burgled, I dont think that it would be significantly higher than in many areas of Europe, but personally I wouldn't want to own a house in those places either.

Lived in Pattaya for over a decade, the entire time in rented or owned houses and never a problem. Of course, I'm not your typical ting-tong farang who lives in a posh house with lots of big windows and sliding glass doors with no bars on them. I just live in a typical mixed Thai-Farang village, where people know their neighbors and strangers would be immediately spotted and watched. (Oh, by the way, we don't have any "security" guards either.

As to stuff a thief would actually steal...a notebook computer, iPad, maybe a camera...what else can they readily carry out (not a big screen TV)...no big deal...maybe a thousand dollars or so of stuff and can be easily replaced. The only concern would be being home during the robbery and personal injury.

All one needs in to have security bars/gates on all the windows and doors and quality dead-bolt locks too. In the alternative, the windows could be replaced with quality casement windows with quality locking hardware and security glazing. Oh and skip the noisy and stinky dogs...go with a cat...like I've said, never a problem.

PS: Of course, I've know people who come home drunk most nites and fall asleep on the couch without closing/locking their front doors and have been burgled ..and others who often bring slappers to their homes overnite and a few weeks later get robbed. So personal behavior also has allot to do with whether your home is burgled or not.

[guzzi850m2]

Here we go again, house or condo. For me with a wife and kid, house is the only option.

We live in a fairly (now) secure village, before there were problems with break-ins, most likely from the workers living in the village, building the houses. Since they moved out no more break-ins.

Since I am gone 6 month per year for work, we have added stainless steel bars on all the windows, and no we don't feel like we live in a prison and we can slide them open out to the patio in day time. We also have a dog.

If you want motion sensors and alarms on the windows/doors you can buy them in Tuk.com or Mastersafe on south Pattaya road(I had it in my old house).

Edited December 23, 2012 by guzzi850m2

[thenervoussurgeon]

In 7 years we have been broken into once as were most on our estate by our burgular ,we have an alarm system ,unfortunatly our burgular was deaf and dumb ,if you would like to visit him he is in Pattaya prison ,i'me not joking.

[ROBINPATTAYA]

I am in a gated village called sp5. We have had many robberies there, me included. I have alarmed windows & doors but didnt set them this particular night. My friend in the village was also robbed losing him motorbike amongst other things.

The best prevention is an alarm system & sensor lights.

The guards are useless & I think are in on the job telling friends/family when someone is out or away on holidays. My neighbour heard 2 motorbikes around my house, how do they get into a gated village?

Between the 2 houses, we lost about 200,000 baht.

Insurance is a joke, nothing they steal is covered, I recovered 5,000 after fighting the insurance company.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

[expatsupreme]

I am in a gated village called sp5. We have had many robberies there, me included. I have alarmed windows & doors but didnt set them this particular night. My friend in the village was also robbed losing him motorbike amongst other things.

The best prevention is an alarm system & sensor lights.

The guards are useless & I think are in on the job telling friends/family when someone is out or away on holidays. My neighbour heard 2 motorbikes around my house, how do they get into a gated village?

Between the 2 houses, we lost about 200,000 baht.

Insurance is a joke, nothing they steal is covered, I recovered 5,000 after fighting the insurance company.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

wow, so sorry

[OMGImInPattaya]

I am in a gated village called sp5. We have had many robberies there, me included. I have alarmed windows & doors but didnt set them this particular night. My friend in the village was also robbed losing him motorbike amongst other things.

The best prevention is an alarm system & sensor lights.

The guards are useless & I think are in on the job telling friends/family when someone is out or away on holidays. My neighbour heard 2 motorbikes around my house, how do they get into a gated village?

Between the 2 houses, we lost about 200,000 baht.

Insurance is a joke, nothing they steal is covered, I recovered 5,000 after fighting the insurance company.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

Sorry about your loss...I have a couple friends who live in your village but I don't know if they have been burgled.

May I ask if you have window and door bars? Are you windows the original cheap sliders or have you replaced them with heavy duty frames and locks with laminated safety glass if there are no bars? I agree that "security" guards are less than useless, that's why I like living in a village without them...who needs people who know your daily routine and when you go away on vacations and alert their friends when it's a good time to rob your house.

All that electronic stuff you recommend is pretty useless...secure windows/doors and good neighbors (not ones who hear strangers around but do nothing) are what is needed.

[Asiacat]

I got burgled around three years ago.

I live off Soi Khao Noi in a town house in cul de sac with bars on my windows.

The burglar bent the bars back and broke the window lock.

The ook momey (around 4000 baht) my mobile phone and my rented motorcyle.

The thing that most concerned me was that they (or he) came in my bedroom in which the light was on while I was sleeping took my trousers off the end of my bed took the money out of my wallet and keys and escaped on my motorcycle.

I don't suppose they came in unarmed so it was probably a good thing that I was asleep.

I reported the matter to the police and the motorcycle renter who then wanted b32000 to replace the bike.

At the time I didn't have that amount of money in Thailand and couldnt pay it straight away.

One or two people suggested that the motorcycle hirer my have been behind it is a common scam.

Possible but why wouldn't they just take the m/c without the risk of entering my house when I was in there with a light on in the bedroom.

Anyway after several phone calls over a period of about 4 weeks with threats of court action from the hirer they eventually called me with the good news that the police had recovered the bike at a checkpoint in Sattahip,

To this day I still don't know if it was a scam for money by the hirer or an opportunist burglar

.

[Penangfreak]

Where are security companies that can install deadlocks/alarms?

You are not RADIOLA, reborn & upgraded to supreme? Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.....PF.

Nope, I would not buy a house, most of my friend's and their expensive homes got burglarized, some several times....

[kurnell]

Where are security companies that can install deadlocks/alarms?

You are not RADIOLA, reborn & upgraded to supreme? Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.....PF.

Nope, I would not buy a house, most of my friend's and their expensive homes got burglarized, some several times....

Again in English please

[wpcoe]

Unless you are specifically targeted -- in which case there's not much to stop a motivated intruder -- the trick is to make your home appear to be the least desirable/least easy to infiltrate.

On a moo baan of well lit houses, with one dark one -- which do you think would be targeted? If all the houses but one have steel security doors with padlocks and bars on the windows, except one, which house do you think would be targeted?

It seems most of the home burglaries are crimes of opportunity. If someone cases your neighborhood and sees a target easier than your home, you will most likely be bypassed.

I have indoor lights on a timer so that even if I'm not home, at first glance it looks like I am. My outdoor security light is an electric-eye type -- on at dusk, off at dawn -- even if I'm not home.

As mentioned, some of the bars-on-the-windows can be more attractive than others, and even slide out of the way during the day.

Scan the forums -- not just ThaiVisa, but other forums -- for security suggestions. A little bit of effort and investment can go a long way to securing your home.

But, again, if you are *targeted* for some reason, whether you are in a house, townhouse or condo, "where there's a will, there's a way!"

[ROBINPATTAYA]

I am in a gated village called sp5. We have had many robberies there, me included. I have alarmed windows & doors but didnt set them this particular night. My friend in the village was also robbed losing him motorbike amongst other things.

The best prevention is an alarm system & sensor lights.

The guards are useless & I think are in on the job telling friends/family when someone is out or away on holidays. My neighbour heard 2 motorbikes around my house, how do they get into a gated village?

Between the 2 houses, we lost about 200,000 baht.

Insurance is a joke, nothing they steal is covered, I recovered 5,000 after fighting the insurance company.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect App

Sorry about your loss...I have a couple friends who live in your village but I don't know if they have been burgled.

May I ask if you have window and door bars? Are you windows the original cheap sliders or have you replaced them with heavy duty frames and locks with laminated safety glass if there are no bars? I agree that "security" guards are less than useless, that's why I like living in a village without them...who needs people who know your daily routine and when you go away on vacations and alert their friends when it's a good time to rob your house.

All that electronic stuff you recommend is pretty useless...secure windows/doors and good neighbors (not ones who hear strangers around but do nothing) are what is needed.

I have reed switches on all windows & doors that if set off, ring my phone, if anyone moves a window 5mm, the alarm will sound scaring the intruders off.

CCTV isn't a deterent to a criminal, it will only identify that you have been robbed by x number of persons.

The best protection is a combination of light & sound, have sensor lights installed on the perimeter of your house, alarm systems set & if out or away, a timer with lights in various rooms.

I dont like the bars on windows, no low life burgular is going to make me live in a jail type house.

All the above would work well, don't be lazy like me & not set the alarm 1 night & get robbed.

Such is life

Edited December 23, 2012 by ROBINPATTAYA

[expatsupreme]

i would love to buy a house, but this is freaking scary, i mean you can easily get killed by some yabba freak

[LennyW]

i would love to buy a house, but this is freaking scary, i mean you can easily get killed by some yabba freak

You could also get run over by a drunk driver, get rabies from a stray dog, catch dengue fever from a mosquito bite, get sunstroke from the sun/heat, get food poisoning, get fleeced by a woman!! .......... Go buy a condo and lock yourself in self imposed isolation - it seems to be a life style suited to some, Or buy a house, get a dog and have a happy life, but whatever you decide, just do it and don't and stop being such a drama queen!

[raro]

Can we continue discussing burglar protection without emotional outbursts? Thanks.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[craigt3365]

OP: maybe you'd like to share the name of the village you're considering? Seems some are safer than others?

We've only had one breakin here in 6 years. It was a house on the outside wall that was vacant for many months...and owners forgot to turn the alarm on.

My house was vandalized, but it was the guards and the house was abandoned and empty for 3 years. Wiring was taken. Guards were caught and replaced.

IMHO, an alarm is a good thing. Only problem is the roof. It's hard to protect against that, unless you install one of those motion detectors you can get at one of the home improvement stores. My friend has a few of these right near his outside doors.

[submaniac]

I'll throw one out for the mix: Guman Tong.

Really, if people believe your house to be haunted, it will be the very last house that any Thai person would want to burglarize.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuman_thong

[Dorkers]

Just read an article from my home newspaper interviewing burglars - their biggest deterrant from breaking into a house was if the house had a dog. I wonder how many dog owners have had their place broken into here in Patts.

My place has the bars on the windows, and I don't know if our Thai compadres have started this yet, but living in Tanzania the theives would steal stuff through the windows by using sticks and hooks (fishing) for your stuff through the windows, wallets, phones and car keys would be taken without actually entering the house! So I'm conscious of not leaving valuables near the windows.

Edited December 24, 2012 by Dorkers

[LeCharivari]

I live in a little village/hamlet a few minutes outside Pattaya - in the middle of nowhere to most people, including the postman as I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac. The only thing that gets stolen regularly is the telephone cable to the district (10 or 12 times this year!). I never lock my house, leave the doors and windows wide open unless its raining, and don't bother locking the gate unless we're out for most of the day. No security guards, etc, but everyone knows everyone else and knows who comes in or out, particularly since the local "casino" is run by my neighbours. Pretty well everyone has dogs, including us.

The only break-ins locally in the 10 years I've been there have been in the new "village" developments, despite their walls and security guards.

Its not that different to living anywhere else as far as burglars are concerned.

[Ohio]

"perhaps" doesn't sound like a committment to buy to me.

If you have a genuine fear so great of Burglars (I wonder if this is even a genuine post) then I suggest you don't buy a house ANYWHERE in the world.

CCTV etc is NOT a deterrent BUT records events unless it is Mannned.

Any house anywhere can be Burgled , it is opportunistic most times.

Buy a Condo if you are serious

[Pushit]

Internal lighting, TV, radio on timer switches are an effective deterrent when property is vacant.

Home Pro stocks good timers.