Our house was robbed! (in Merida)

dutchie · 02-25-2012

I know I know this forum is about Playa del Carman but I am looking for some input by landlords and renters and I know that this forum has lots of both so please understand why I am posting here even though it may seem on the surface to be innappropriate. Thanks everyone!!

I am looking for some input as to responsibility of losses in a recent robbery in the house we are renting in central Merida.

On fat tuesday in the evening sometime between 6 and 9pm someone broke the glass of the back patio protectore and lifted the steel rods that keep the door shut and then stole my laptop which I had locked with a laptop cable and my Blackberry playbook which was on the night table charging. Other incidentals such as a knapsack, gps, chargers prescription sunglasses etc were also taken. Other than the damage to the glass, nothing of the owners was touched.

My rental contract states that they are not responsible for any vandalism, robberys etc etc.

HOWEVER my issue is, that clearly I was not able to properly secure the house due to a lack of a proper lock. I think I took more than reasonable efforts to secure my goods The property manager acknowledged that, the door was a weak spot and she had numerous times, pleaded with the owners to add something to properly secure that door to no avail.

I understand that the contract states that they are not responsible but is there not, a minimum standerd of care in keeping a rental home secure? Even hotels tell you they are not responsible for goods left in the room but they still supply a lock on the door, a night watchman and lockbox somewhere.

I would love to hear if others think I am being unreaasonable in asking for some recompense for my loss.

BTW the owners have no insurance and my home insurance has such a high deductable it wouldn't be worthwhile to make a claim, also just trip cancellation insurance on my part.

Thanks so much for your input.

Dutchie

Babaloo · 02-25-2012

My thought is you could put 10 locks on a sliding glass door but the glass is the weak spot.

Babaloo · 02-25-2012

Someone (coughSuecough) informed me that my comment above was snarky.
It wasn't meant to be snarky.
I was just saying that (without bars on the door) locks will not prevent someone from breaking the glass and entering the house.

dutchie · 02-25-2012

"sliding glass door but the glass is the weak spot."

I guess I should have explained a little better. It wasn't a sliding glass door. Protectores are the bars that protect the windows and doors in Merida and other places in Mexico. This patio door had all kinds of bars and then in front of them panes of glass. However the mechanism to keep the door closed is acessable if you break the glass. One padlock in the proper spot is all it would take to keep the door secure.

Kogia · 02-25-2012

I am so sorry this happened to you. We have stayed in Merida many times and felt very safe there. Can you tell me if this was a vacation rental and if it was downtown near the square?

dutchie · 02-25-2012

Yes it was a vacation rental from "Mexico International" in the Santa Ana district in Centro. Everyone in the neigbourhood is shocked and the kicker is they came back and tried again the next evening but the newly installed locks prevented a repeat occurence. needless to say we don't feel quite as safe and secure as we did a week agao.

Babaloo · 02-25-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by dutchie

"sliding glass door but the glass is the weak spot."

I guess I should have explained a little better. It wasn't a sliding glass door. Protectores are the bars that protect the windows and doors in Merida and other places in Mexico. This patio door had all kinds of bars and then in front of them panes of glass. However the mechanism to keep the door closed is acessable if you break the glass. One padlock in the proper spot is all it would take to keep the door secure.

Ok. Gotcha. I jumped to the wrong conclusion

mexipat · 02-25-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by dutchie

Yes it was a vacation rental from "Mexico International" in the Santa Ana district in Centro. Everyone in the neigbourhood is shocked and the kicker is they came back and tried again the next evening but the newly installed locks prevented a repeat occurence. needless to say we don't feel quite as safe and secure as we did a week agao.

It sounds as though you are out of luck but, if I were you, I would post the question on yolisto.com as they forum is all about Merida and the surrounding area.

mexipat · 02-25-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by mexipat

It sounds as though you are out of luck but, if I were you, I would post the question on yolisto.com as they forum is all about Merida and the surrounding area.

Oops. I see you've already done that.

dutchie · 02-25-2012

yes thanks I did that too. I thought i would post here as well since it is such a popular forum and the opinions that I am asking for arn't really specific to merida or one specific locale but rather mexican landlord renter responsibilities and whether I am being unreasonable in my thinking.

Trev · 02-25-2012

I'm sorry that this happened to you. I'm not sure what options are available to you, but I hope it works out for you.

02-25-2012	#1 (permalink)
dutchie way into it Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 181	Our house was robbed! (in Merida) I know I know this forum is about Playa del Carman but I am looking for some input by landlords and renters and I know that this forum has lots of both so please understand why I am posting here even though it may seem on the surface to be innappropriate. Thanks everyone!! I am looking for some input as to responsibility of losses in a recent robbery in the house we are renting in central Merida. On fat tuesday in the evening sometime between 6 and 9pm someone broke the glass of the back patio protectore and lifted the steel rods that keep the door shut and then stole my laptop which I had locked with a laptop cable and my Blackberry playbook which was on the night table charging. Other incidentals such as a knapsack, gps, chargers prescription sunglasses etc were also taken. Other than the damage to the glass, nothing of the owners was touched. My rental contract states that they are not responsible for any vandalism, robberys etc etc. HOWEVER my issue is, that clearly I was not able to properly secure the house due to a lack of a proper lock. I think I took more than reasonable efforts to secure my goods The property manager acknowledged that, the door was a weak spot and she had numerous times, pleaded with the owners to add something to properly secure that door to no avail. I understand that the contract states that they are not responsible but is there not, a minimum standerd of care in keeping a rental home secure? Even hotels tell you they are not responsible for goods left in the room but they still supply a lock on the door, a night watchman and lockbox somewhere. I would love to hear if others think I am being unreaasonable in asking for some recompense for my loss. BTW the owners have no insurance and my home insurance has such a high deductable it wouldn't be worthwhile to make a claim, also just trip cancellation insurance on my part. Thanks so much for your input. Dutchie

02-25-2012	#4 (permalink)
dutchie way into it Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 181	"sliding glass door but the glass is the weak spot." I guess I should have explained a little better. It wasn't a sliding glass door. Protectores are the bars that protect the windows and doors in Merida and other places in Mexico. This patio door had all kinds of bars and then in front of them panes of glass. However the mechanism to keep the door closed is acessable if you break the glass. One padlock in the proper spot is all it would take to keep the door secure. Last edited by dutchie; 02-25-2012 at 12:51 PM..

02-25-2012	#6 (permalink)
dutchie way into it Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 181	yes Yes it was a vacation rental from "Mexico International" in the Santa Ana district in Centro. Everyone in the neigbourhood is shocked and the kicker is they came back and tried again the next evening but the newly installed locks prevented a repeat occurence. needless to say we don't feel quite as safe and secure as we did a week agao.

02-25-2012	#2 (permalink)
Babaloo añejo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 22,549	My thought is you could put 10 locks on a sliding glass door but the glass is the weak spot.

02-25-2012	#3 (permalink)
Babaloo añejo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Playa del Carmen Posts: 22,549	Someone (coughSuecough) informed me that my comment above was snarky. It wasn't meant to be snarky. I was just saying that (without bars on the door) locks will not prevent someone from breaking the glass and entering the house.

02-25-2012	#5 (permalink)
Kogia way into it Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 246	I am so sorry this happened to you. We have stayed in Merida many times and felt very safe there. Can you tell me if this was a vacation rental and if it was downtown near the square?

02-25-2012	#10 (permalink)
dutchie way into it Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Winnipeg Canada Posts: 181	yes thanks I did that too. I thought i would post here as well since it is such a popular forum and the opinions that I am asking for arn't really specific to merida or one specific locale but rather mexican landlord renter responsibilities and whether I am being unreasonable in my thinking.

02-25-2012	#11 (permalink)
Trev way into it Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: up north, eh. Posts: 217	I'm sorry that this happened to you. I'm not sure what options are available to you, but I hope it works out for you.

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