On no island like Bonaire

[DiverVince]

Diver Vince, you are very, very sure that breakins in rental condos is the exception on Bonaire, not the general rule. I even think you referred to this crime as petty. Fine. You also think it is so rare as to not be much of a concern. Fine. Are you willing to reimburse your rental tenants for all losses, in full, that they incur, that lock all doors and lock all windows when they go out and suffer a breakin? Are you that sure and confident that you would extend that cioverage to tenants that rent your condo?

OK, who wants to bet one of two things will happen?: Diver Vince will not respond to this but will have a string of other people respond do it for him, or he will respond and say it is up to the tenant to have thier own coverage? hey, if it's so rare, and the chances of it happening so minute, go for it, extend that protection, DV?

PF..Unfortunately you do have quite a few misconceptions with my postings. I do say what I mean in plain English, really not necessary to put your personal spin on it.

1.[you are very, very sure that breakins in rental condos is the exception on Bonaire, not the general rule. I even think you referred to this crime as petty.]
Answer..YES, break ins are the exception on Bonaire. To think differently is silly. Why don't you talk to the thousands of people who leave Bonaire and have loved it? I NEVER referred to a break in crime to a rented occupancy as petty. Show me the posting where I did this and stop posting such gibberish.

2.[You also think it is so rare as to not be much of a concern. Fine. ]
When did I ever say this? Of course it's a concern. The same way when you dive remaining accident free is "a concern". Does that mean you don't dive?

3. [ Are you willing to reimburse your rental tenants for all losses, in full, that they incur, that lock all doors and lock all windows when they go out and suffer a breakin?}
Answer: NO (notwithstanding that we have NEVER had a problem). Was it me who was negligent or committed the crime? Have I ever said that no crime exists on Bonaire? You are asking absolutely ridiculous questions PF.

 

[pilot fish]

[ Are you willing to reimburse your rental tenants for all losses, in full, that they incur, that lock all doors and lock all windows when they go out and suffer a breakin?}
Answer: NO (notwithstanding that we have NEVER had a problem). Was it me who was negligent or committed the crime? Have I ever said that no crime exists on Bonaire? You are asking absolutely ridiculous questions PF.

Ok, just checking. Can't say I'm surprised. :laughing:

 

[ShoeAddict]

:calle:

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I'm glad I can only see one side of this because watching and participating became a constant drain on my system.

NO ONE HAS EVER "WHITE WASHED" crime on Bonaire. It IS UNFORTUNATE that many have to come to these threads and thwart the rantings of those who would post 20 times to everyone else's 1 post concerning the "raging crime problems" on Bonaire.

Did the OP have problems with the rental agency and also suffer a break-in? Yes. That is unfortunate, and I feel for them. Crime is a concern on Bonaire. I am truly glad to know that guns are against the law there and possession/use carries penalties that keep them out of crime on Bonaire. The police don't carry guns and the criminals won't take the chance of possession/use.

Will it stop divers from filling up the rentals and resorts? No. That is unfortunate, and I feel for the fact that there will be so many divers there when I make my next trip in June with 30+ diver friends from this very board.

Will I take the recommended precautions? Yes. The precautions are the exact same precautions I take on all my trips inside the USA, why would I change it to travel to a different country?

Will I discuss all the precautions and places where I store things? Not on a public forum

Do I rent from a rental agency on Bonaire? No. But, I don't rent from a rental agency for any trip in the USA either.

Do I feel safe on Bonaire? Yes. I feel safer on Bonaire than I do in many places I visit in the USA. Heck, here in south Florida I could be shot driving down the road at random (this is a REAL issue and is NOT PETTY). But, I have never heard of, nor am I afraid of being shot while driving the roads of Bonaire...

I wonder what the police are doing about random carjacking and shootings on the road in south Florida, or the USA for that matter. I know they talk about it a lot, but those crimes haven't stopped yet.

Hmmm, maybe I should start bashing the USA in order to get people to move away because the government hasn't stopped crime here yet...

 

[driftwood]

Firstly whoever said I was an insurance agent? Answer..I'm not (However I DO have a fiduciary obligation to my clients).

I do understand insurance law being involved with it for some 35 years of my ongoing insurance/risk managment career. I suggest you review the concept of agency and who they are obligated to protect and represent once an agency relationship is established.

In essence, insurance agents can bind their principal to a contract & legally represent them. They represent the principal NOT their insured. The same way a real estate agent represents the seller, not the buyer (that's why god created brokers).

If you hire a property firm to manage your property than the owner of the property is the principal, NOT the lessee. Additionally, the agent has the legal and fiduciary obligation to protect the principal. It seems to me they have done so. If you disagree with this (since you have explicitly stated so), than that's an issue of law to be tried by their court system.

Hi Vince,

I stand corrected.

Real Estate law is a bit different from insurance law. There was a secondary relationship created between the lessor and the lessee through the management company. I have expressed no opinion whether the lessee has an actionable cause under Bonaire/Dutch law. The opinion I put forth was that under Texas Real Estate Code, Sunbelt violated its duty to the lessee if the lessee's version of events is substantially correct. TREC was formed to protect the broker/agent, the seller and the buyer. That sometimes means walking a very thin line balancing competing interests.

If Sunbelt's position is upheld under local law, all the more reason to never enter into a lease on the island. Why willingly walk into a potential trap with no means of recourse when you are treated poorly.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

If Sunbelt's position is upheld under local law, all the more reason to never enter into a lease on the island. Why willingly walk into a potential trap with no means of recourse when you are treated poorly.

You know, I can truly agree with this for no matter what country a person is a lessee!

 

[Mike]

Sounds like the OP from bonairetalk should have left his rental apparment unlocked the windows opened and kept nothing of value inside.

Thanks! I snorted soda through my nose!

Glad to see a few people have a sense of humor, most of the time it seems like 90% of the posters on these forums have a frog fish up their butt.

Ever hear of the saying "When in Rome do as the Romans do"?

Yes, I've heard it. What's it got to do with what I said?

Let me go over it one more time for you:

You're replying on a post about yet another criminal incident on Bonaire trying to white wash the crime rate on the island by pointing out that you :

have just spent 3 weeks diving all over (that is east side, west coast, south & north), and never once did I encounter any type of problem at any of the dive sites I visited.

Now follow along , I'll spell it all out for you, it's really not that hard to understand the irony of your personal testimony to how safe Bonaire is..

... if you had spent 3 weeks diving the island, leaving your vehicle at dive sites with the windows rolled up and the truck locked with valuables in it and nothing happened, then you'd have something to demostrate that Bonaire is just as safe and normal as anywhere else.

But when you spend 3 weeks diving and having to follow the "bonaire / Roman" rules of abnormality and extreme precautions to guard against theft, what the hell is there to your point? That Bonaire has an abnormal amount of crime at dive sites? If that was your point you did a good job making it.


As usual I will repeat - my issue isn't the abnormal crime rate on Bonaire, it exists, we all know it, what's so funny is the continual futile attempts at white washing.

You guys would be making head way, except for the problem that the criminals keep ripping people off and the news keeps getting out.

 

[Mossman]

... if you had spent 3 weeks diving the island, leaving your vehicle at dive sites with the windows rolled up and the truck locked with valuables in it and nothing happened, then you'd have something to demostrate that Bonaire is just as safe and normal as anywhere else.

Where is this "anywhere else" that is rumored to be so safe that you can leave your car unattended with valuables inside parked at remote dive sites?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I had to "un-block" this poster in order to respond. I will add this poster back onto my block list once this is done...

Thanks! I snorted soda through my nose!

Why? Were you anywhere near Bonaire when you did this? Were you anywhere near Bonaire in the last year, last decade, last 100 years?

Glad to see a few people have a sense of humor, most of the time it seems like 90% of the posters on these forums have a frog fish up their butt.

Perhaps THAT is the reason there are so many divers who appreciate Bonaire so much... I can't relate as it has not happened to me. Perhaps it has happened to you, and you are embarrassed to relate that issue. It would explain a lot, but I don't expect you to admit it, tue or false...

Let me go over it one more time for you:

You're replying on a post about yet another criminal incident on Bonaire trying to white wash the crime rate on the island by pointing out that you :... Now follow along , I'll spell it all out for you, it's really not that hard to understand the irony of your personal testimony to how safe Bonaire is..

Over and over and over and over and over and over and over... until it becomes too comical to understand, you continue, continue, continue, continue, continue, continue.... to bash, to bash, to bash, to bash, to bash, to bash... until, even your "to bash" becomes comical

... if you had spent 3 weeks diving the island, leaving your vehicle at dive sites with the windows rolled up and the truck locked with valuables in it and nothing happened, then you'd have something to demostrate that Bonaire is just as safe and normal as anywhere else.

Where the hell is "anywhere"? In south Florida, or most of the USA, this would constitute a normal vehicle breakin... And, if valuables were left in the vehicle, most police officers would laugh at the lessee for leaving them there to be stolen!

But when you spend 3 weeks diving and having to follow the "bonaire / Roman" rules of abnormality and extreme precautions to guard against theft, what the hell is there to your point?

Where the fraq place do you live in where you expect to leave your valuables locked in your car and expect them to be there when you return every single time you go for a shore dive? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE FRAQ THAT IS... IT IS NOT IN THE USA!

That Bonaire has an abnormal amount of crime at dive sites? If that was your point you did a good job making it.

Do you really want to match crime at a dive site vs. most shore dive sites in the USA? I believe Blue Heron Bridge, in south Florida beats the entire crime rate in Bonaire... and that is just one shore dive in the USA... I am sure West Palm Beach (where Blue Heron Bridge's beach diving is located) beats Bonaire for breakins per year... (strange, it's only 1/2 the size of Bonaire, and the government haven't stopped crime yet) But, you must surely know that this is not true because you have first-hand knowledge of either... or do you?

As usual I will repeat - my issue isn't the abnormal crime rate on Bonaire, it exists, we all know it, what's so funny is the continual futile attempts at white washing.

You must be an expert in the "abnormal" in order to make this statement and compare it to other locations around the world... But, until you present such credentials, I implore others to regard your opinion as just that... an opinion without proof, numbers, or even believability (if that is even a word). One person's opinion without so much as supplying even a first-hand presentation where you have had anything happen to you while you were on Bonaire or anywhere else in the world. Others have posted their break-in reports, and when asked if they "felt safe and would return to Bonaire in the future?" Every single one said.... YES, they felt safe and would return!

You guys would be making head way, except for the problem that the criminals keep ripping people off and the news keeps getting out.

... and you guys would make head-way if you made your statements and then kept quiet. But, by bashing, and bashing, and bashing, and bashing, and bashing, you become comical versions of gloom-and-doom to the point of being comedians in each thread where everyone understands you have little to no knowledge of what you keep harping on....

 

[pilot fish]

........my issue isn't the abnormal crime rate on Bonaire, it exists, we all know it, what's so funny is the continual futile attempts at white washing.

Indeed. That is what is upsetting about this.