Window bars in ground floor apt?

I just bought a beautiful ground-floor condo in a good area of brooklyn. The place does not have security bars on the windows, so I’d been planning to put in some nice, custom-designed, decorative ones, but now I’m worried that they might harm the re-sale value of the place.

The apartment is right at ground level, and the windows start at about 4 ft above the floor/ground and extend to about 13 or 14 ft off the ground (ceilings in apartment are high). It would be nice to leave at least part of the windows exposed since they are so large.

Any thoughts? Should I 1) not install bars, 2) install bars 1/2 way up the window to deter burglary/prevent potential burglars from being able to crawl in an open window, or 3) install bars over the entire length of the windows?

Would bars over 10-ft tall windows turn you off of an apartment? Or would you be more turned off by the security risks of not having them at all? Would a middle ground be best? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

By | 02/26/2007 9:57 AM