Did you consider (SHTF) defense when buying your house?

[dfaugh]

I read alot of the SHTF threads here, and took a good look at my house, yard and environment. And, while I never considered it when I bought the place, I have an EXTREMELY defensible property.

For example, I have a 360 degree field of fire for between 100 and 300 yards in all directions. 6 foot stockage fence, about 1/2 acre, around the rear perimeter(and accessible from walk out basement), which I can send the dogs into(and you DON'T wanna mess with these dogs, in their territory). Windows on all sides of house, both 1st and 2nd floors, and it sits atop a hill. Solid stone construction for foundation(original part of house built in 1902).

In short, if myself and both my sons were here, with the guns that I own, , we could probably hold off a LARGE number of "attackers", assuming they don't have mortars or RPGs. But, even a well-armed "mob" would have serious problem trying to get in, or even near us.

Like I said, I never really thought about it when I bought the place. Have any of you considered these things when you bought/rented your current property?

 

[justatexasboy]

I bought my place a little further from town. Near the exit routes that I expect to use if the SHTF. Should have considerably less traffic in this area.

I bought a property with SHTF as a secondary consideration. Its about 300 acres located way form any major highways. Its got a good a well, functioning windmill, lots of game, and two rivers running through it. Topographically it is elevated in the middle and provides ideal vantage points. The only problem I see there is that it is easily two hours from my residence under ideal driving conditions.

 

[hankdatank1362]

Yeah, as soon as those big LEO checks start rolling in D ) I plan on selling our current home and buying something a little frther out in the country, with a little more land. The possibility of S hitting the F had a small role to play in that decision.

 

[Sawdust]

Why yes, yes I did.

Sawdust

 

[TallPine]

I voted "Yes / primary consideration" but I have learned some things since then that would make me look at it differently - as in, weighing some of the advantages and disadvangtages of certain features. Not so much "SHTF" but just general security.

I think if I was buying/developing a rural property again, that I would choose a house site where the "yard" (1 or 2 acres) could be more easily fenced: a dog proof fence that completely surrounds the house so that the dogs can protect it from all sides whether or not we are home. As it is, the immediate area of the house is too steep and rugged to fence with mesh easily and inexpensively and conveniently. I have to think about things like snow removal in the winter when constructing fences.

Before moving out here, I had just not thought about ever wanting a "yard" area fenced around the house on a large acreage (well, 40 - that isn't really that large in this area). Like who needs a "city yard" out in the country???

One thing that we have done for the dual purpose of wildfire protection and security, was to thin the trees near the house and remove the thick undergrowth (mostly young trees and juniper). I've learned that "privacy" works both ways: all those thickets provided a place for somebody to hide and sneak around the house.

Some of the security/shtf considerations were:
1) out in the country as far as possible (duh!)
2) good water supply (well)
3) cellar for long term food storage
4) a safe and private place for a shooting range
5) some other things that are best left unsaid ...

 

[WYO]

I voted No. I spent the bulk of my time at the macro level, searching for a state, city and neighborhood where the people tend to stick together as a community when bad things happen, who know how to roll up their sleeves and work rather than waiting on other people to solve their problems, and with low crime statistics. Defending my house against an attacking mob was not even on my list. After moving, I took the prudent safety precautions, with lighting, deadbolts, etc.

P.S. I don’t miss New Orleans.

 

[rwc]

Yes - if you consider moving out of the city and onto an island where some folks still leave doors unlocked counts as considering defense.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Wish I Had

Yeah. Hindsight and all that.

We bought a nice house . . . in town . . . a relatively small town, by most standards. But it's also a capitol city. And we're near the middle of town (on the "good" side) . . . and a matter of blocks from the governor's place.

We were doing what all good shoppers do: location, location, location.

Our mindset was "stayin' alive" while recovering from a nasty fall down the financial well. Counted ourselves lucky to get into the house at all.

If I had to rate its defensibility, on a scale of 1 - 10 (with apartment buildings at 1 and isolated house on hill at 10), I'd have to give this one a 3 or 4. With a little work, maybe a 5.

Its exterior is brick floor to ceiling and it's not really cozy with the neighboring houses, but only 50 feet of clearance on those sides. Composition shingle roof isn't a big help.

Clear field of fire in only two directions. Many blind spots.

As I mentioned in another post, the concept of even being armed at all didn't begin to sink in until about 3 years ago. Since then, I've greatly improved our ability to defend our persons, our home, and (to some degree) our neighborhood.

We've improved our . . . preparedness . . . to the point where, if we can stay alive, then we can continue to stay alive -- if that makes sense.

Our awareness of . . . stuff . . . didn't really begin to pick up until about a year ago, when Mrs Wife began her own blog (see www.noisyroom.net) and started paying attention to current affairs in a fairly serious way.

Naturally, when we attempt to (gently) lift the veil from our neighbors and associates, our efforts are largely met with one form of denial or another.

I guess you can't enlighten someone who's not ready. Kinda sucks.

 

[Geno]

Without any doubt

There were numerous benefits already in place in the home we purchased.

Doc2005

 

[beerslurpy]

I declined to buy a house in a poor black neighborhood, but it was because they wanted too much money and it was a horrible looking house. A side benefit of this is that when the S does HTF, it will probably hit in a neighborhood other than mine.

For similar reasons, I chose not to live in South St Pete when I lived in the Tampa area. IMO the biggest part of defeating SHTF is not being there when it happens.

 

[ctdonath]

Thought about it, but other circumstances pushed it to a minor issue.
House design is OK, but not great, for indoor social shooting.
Area has one formal entrance, controllable to at least vehicular access during widespread SHTF.
Nearby lake is water source. Backyard forest is heat source.

 

[vynx]

I selected not at all - unless you consider a good neighborhood with low crime. More common sense than startegic.

I was glad that the entire yard is fenced front back and sides...we padlock the front gate most of the time and it keeps all the solicitors away not to mention its harder to burgle if you have to climb over the fence on your way in and out!

 

[expvideo]

If I had to rate its defensibility, on a scale of 1 - 10 (with apartment buildings at 1 and isolated house on hill at 10), I'd have to give this one a 3 or 4. With a little work, maybe a 5.

I live in an apartment, so... I answered "no". Although if you consider that I'm armed and my roommate is in the market to be, and we're taking our girlfriends to a gun safety class as a group... We're prepaired (well, in the process of becoming prepaired) enough for a break-in. As for the proberbial S hitting the actual F... We're looking into a few carbines, some camelbaks, and extra mags. Nothing too survivalist (cough*crazy*cough), but enough so that we could survive a post-Katrina type situation.

 

[sefus]

Yes, primary for enjoying life.
Outside limits of small townby 20 minutes, larger city a half a days hike away (we're sandwiched inbetween); not on main route; know the neighbors who have horses and orchards; good well; lots of trees; varying geography for shooting, fenced the yard; put in a wood stove...
Its just a way of life for me, I like my privacy.

 

[PvtPyle]

I only consider it slightly. But I give the floor plan serious consideration when I lay out the safe points for the girls, camera placement (inside and outside cameras) and especially the choke points, security system and panic buttons.

I do give serious consideration to the landscaping as well. No big rocks in the yard that can be used as cover, no big bushes or trees near the windows that can be used as concealment while they attempt to gain entry.

 

[geekWithA.45]

_Some_ of the criteria for home selection had emergency considerations:


* Gun friendly state
* Within walking distance of running water
* On high ground
* Lots of storage space
* Solid construction, preferably older (most of what's been build since the mid 70's is crap), preferably brick
* Basement
* Fireplace

And perhaps the most important thing we looked for was a neighborhood that showed signs of friendliness and neighborly cohesion. We wanted to make sure that the folks closest to us were likely to have some initiative, self sufficiency and community spirit in the event of an emergency.

To get all that, we had to compromise a few things: the floor layout make internal defense a challenge, to the say the least, and there are a few "blind" lanes of approach to the house that would be tough to cover. Of course, the neighbor's pretty friendly, well armed, and has that covered.

 

[SSN Vet]

I didn't buy my house....I built it....

IN THE COUNTRY!!

Preparing for SHTF is not much of a big deal for people who are used to living in the country and doing for themselves (i.e. outside of the public water/sewer/gas zone).

Get a generator and a Gentran box and then figure out how to store enough gas.

I took the $500 my electrical utility wanted to hook up a temp. "construction" service, bought a good generator and built my house using the generator for power. Put in the Gentran box the same day electrical service was installed and the first circuit wired with back up was the pump.

Six five gal. cans in the shed, plus ~12 gal in each snowmobile, plus ~20 gal in my beater truck, plus the 5 gal in the generator itself ...... leaves ~80 gal. of gas on hand at any given time, not to mention what I could siphon out of our primary vehicles.

Keep the tractor topped off with an extra 5 gal. diesel can in the shed.....and I'll be good to go for snow removal for a long time.

For anyone who lives in a region that gets serious snow, this should be SOP.

Wood stove with a couple cords out back and I only need to touch off the generator once or twice a day for hot showers and re-filling 5 gal. pails for flushing. Food can go outside in a cooler (to keep the critters away).

Summer is more of a problem, as the generator has to be run ~1/2 hour out of every 3 to keep the stuff in the chest freezer from thawing.

LPG is the way to go for "cookin' with gas" and "hot water" ... no electricity required for either appliance.

IMHO it all starts by getting the heck out of the city......

I just can't stand living in anything that comes remotely close to a city.

 

[thexrayboy]

The wife and I bought property several miles from town on a little used side road. We bought first because it's very nice but also because it is defensible
in some aspects. We have excellent visibility for hundreds of yards in all directions. The local sagebrush does provide concealment for potential threats but to utilize it would require much crawling about on all fours to avoid being seen. Not impossible but no fun either, especially if you factor in rattlesnakes. We have a well with a pump designed to work off grid and other such preparations. Could it be better? Of course. The main problem being modern home construction does not lend itself to ballistic protection the same as some older homes. But I much prefer it to living cheek by jowl with a populace that frequently has the collective head in the sand.

 

[thexrayboy]

Hey ArfinGreebly, the weblog your wife runs gets a thumbs up in my book.

 

[10-Ring]

Yeah, I did to some extent. But when you buy in a new development, You only get rough idea of location & layout. I did have a big say in landscaping so between the block wall, the trees, rose bushes around the perimeter of the property, I did put some thought into that

 

[Griff]

Yes, and we even considered how everything would fit together if TS didn't HTF, too. Working just fine.

Ex: is a Rose bush pretty or prickly? Both.

 

[Zoogster]

Funny you should mention this after I just recently found an article relating to cops doing gun sweeps in New Orleans during the aftermath and taking guns from houses (often while evicting the owner telling them it was not safe to stay) and arresting and taking guns from people on the streets. They wrongfully and illegaly confiscated over a thousand they admit to from people doing nothing wrong and allowed to have firearms. They chose this course of action I am sure because they felt thier officers would have an easier time trying to turn a chaotic scene into a police state if they disarmed the people. The majority of these guns are still in police custody and a person is required to bring proof of purchase along with serial numbers etc and undergoing background checks to be eligable to have thier police stolen property returned to them. SO when SHTF the police may just come and disarm you to make you safer in a lawless emergency, especialy if your registered in an accessable database like having a CCW as being an armed threat to restoring order

 

[AStone]

primary consideration

I've been considering SHTF for decades.
I know it is coming, even if none of us really know exactly when.

I didnt' "buy" this space. I lease it.
(As a nomad, "buy" is not in my plan.
Allows me to head north to Alaska when I'm ready.)

But this space works for now.

It has lots of space around it; multiple windows on the 2nd floor.

Close to exit routes if S hits TF while I'm here.

Small city, yet far out. Close to organic produce. Well stocked (months) with water, grains, beans & canned goods ranging from pasta & rice to tomatoes, chocolate & beer.

Anyone coming in has multiple layers of walls & doors to go through before finding any humans, including three exterior doors between outside & sleeping quarters.

And for those breaking through that third (dead bolted) exterior door, after all that noise resulting from breaking through the first two, I advise extreme caution ... .38, 9 & 00 awaits...

 

[Kharn]

A little, but mainly for worries about the zombie horde. Nuclear exchange and I'm done-for, as I was shopping for a house within 10mi of a large Army post.

Kharn