Crime is getting pretty bad in Los Angeles. In fact, crime is so rampant that residents in the City of Angels are creating a huge demand for safe rooms to be installed in their homes in case things turn south.
The Hollywood Reporter published a story on the development and let's just say that things are not looking good for the city.
From the story:
"Our influx of inquiries has increased more than 1,000 percent over the past three months," says Dean Cryer, vp international operations at Building Consensus/Panic Room Builders, a firm specializing in the building of safe rooms. "It's gone insane."
Because of the perceived increase in crime in metropolitan areas and high-profile murders and robberies in high-net-worth neighborhoods like Beverly Hills, "hidden rooms are definitely trending right now," says Cryer.
In the L.A. area, some houses selling for as low as $4 million or $5 million are being kitted out, particularly spec homes. "I think they are not something that, in an immediate sense, increases value," says Douglas Elliman real estate agent Greg Holcomb. "But when a buyer is interested in the house anyway, I think it does help [boost interest]."
First off the phrase "as low as $4 million or $5 million" for a house makes me thankful that I do not live in LA.
But even such paltry housing is now being outfitted with "safe rooms" so that the occupants in the house can lie low while they wait for the defunded police to arrive at the scene.
And these safe rooms are serious business:
In business for 25 years, Building Consensus/Panic Room (which consulted on the 2002 movie Panic Room) builds various safe spaces ranging in security levels from one through eight. Safe rooms at level three may be protected with Kevlar, while a level eight is encased in thick steel. "Just the doors can be 2,000 to 3,000 pounds," says Cryer. "And then we're installing steel within the room. So, we're generating up to 10,000 pounds in a room."
Prices range greatly. "You could kit out a small closet for about $100,000, $150,000. And then it's north of there. We've done one in London that had two rooms, full suites … and that was over a million dollars," says Cryer, who says the company's client base consists mostly of billionaires.
Most rooms are opened with biometrics, usually a finger or retina scan secreted behind a bookcase or hidden wall, and come equipped with panic buttons that automatically call security services. Cryer says the firm collaborates with security guards and former officials in law enforcement to constantly improve impregnability.
There also is an emphasis on comfort. "It's gone from a steel, cold room where it's a bunch of cameras," Cryer says. "Now it's more of a serene feeling. We say it's an everyday use room, which when needed can be turned into a safe haven. So, you wouldn't know what room in the house was the safe room. You wouldn't have a clue."
This is a seriously expensive business.
But if you can afford to live in California, you might be willing to spring for a few hundred grand for some added security.
Unfortunately, due to the heavy crime and possibility of ne'er-do-wells casing the houses, the realtors can't advertise the safe rooms.
Real estate agents, though, can never tell casual buyers or appraisers the exact location of a safe room. Often, they can't mention its existence at all until the property is under contract. "You never know who's potentially casing a house. The last thing you want to do is show them, ‘Here's the panic room, and here's how you access it,' " says Jon Grauman of The Agency.
Holcomb likewise has had to keep mum. "We once had a property and an appraiser come and was measuring the home, and they could not figure out why there was this kind of dead space," he says. "And we weren't allowed to tell them what it was. They just had to assume it was dead space, when in fact behind a secret panel was a safe room."
The market for safe rooms doesn't seem to be going away any time soon as crime continues to rise in California.
So, if you're committed to California (WHY?), this might be your best option.
But do you know what would be much cheaper than a safe room in Hollywood, and a whole lot cooler?
A house in Idaho with "ballistic properties."
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