PUBLIC ROADS

Once upon a time, a family was doing their usual morning routine as they prepared to go to school/office. The driver opened the gate to bring the car outside when he was greeted by the barrel of a high-powered firearm.

Several armed men forcibly entered the house and hogtied everyone in the house. The robbers stole everything they could, including a car, which they had used to escape. Except for some bruises, fortunately, no one was seriously harmed. The police were never able to catch the perpetrators.

Investigations revealed that the robbers observed the family's daily routine from a store across the street.

End of story.

How is this related to RE?

The house used to be located on a private street within a gated village. However, to improve traffic flow in the area, officials mandated that the street be opened to the public. Investigators believed that if the street wasn't opened to the public, the incident was more unlikely to happen.

Among buyers' top concerns is security. This is why lots located in a village's perimeter are offered at considerable discounts, even townhouses employ security guards, and why some people refuse to build a house unless there are several already built. Although gated villages with security guards don't guarantee that these things won't happen, applying such measures minimizes the risk.

So what's the takeaway?

A factor you may want to consider in your home purchase is whether or not the Home Owners' Association (HOA) owns the streets within the village. See, when villages are put up, developers typically donate the titles of the road lots to the Local Government Unit (LGU). They do this for two reasons:

1. To minimize expenses from paying real property tax on the roads and

2. To pass on the maintenance of these roads to the LGU.

Once these road lots are donated, they become public property. The LGU could decide to open the streets to the public in the future (e.g., to improve traffic flow). This is precisely what happened to Varsity Hills in 2019, when the LGU declared the subdivision's gates "obstructions" and tore them down.

Just something to consider if you're someone who obsesses about security.