Real Estate Community Forum

Due to the housing crisis many property owners are having trouble paying their mortgage and have decided to rent out their homes, especially if they can't even sell it. Are you seeing this happen where you live? How do you feel having renters in your neighborhood? Does it bother you or would you prefer to have the home owners living near you instead? Please share.

I am a renter and I'm very thankful to those homeowners who have given me a chance to rent their home for my family. I have three kids and I want them to grow and have the same opportunities that other children have. This includes growing up and play in a safer neighborhood, learn in a good school system, and make friends with neighborhood children.

People need to understand that not all renters are irresponsible and they don't all receive assistance. Many of us work hard to be where we are. Some have been unfortunate enough to have gone through a divorce, layoffs, and crashing job markets. People should have the same respect for renters as they do home owners.

I currently own my home and it is one of the best looking homes on the street. I spend several weekends keeping my home looking nice and presentable. However, there is a young man who lives across the street and owns his home. He is a terrible neighbor because he is always having loud parties, trash in the yard, unkept maintenace around the house, and he leaves his holiday decorations on for months. Some people assume if your house is messy and unkept, you must be a renter. Wrong! In my opinion there is no difference if you are a renter or home owner. I have seen renters keep their place nicer looking than my neighbor. It's the quality of the person that matters, not whether they own property.

Homes in my neighborhood are becoming rentals. When homes in a neighborhood become rental properties, many home owners quickly begin to worry because it affects the property value in the area. It is known that renters have less at stake in maintaining the property so my home might be perceived with a lesser value. Keep in mind, I'm not saying renters are terrible people. I myself was a renter for several years and I always took care of the places I lived in, but I know that a lot of renters are not as neat and clean as I was.

Another problem with rentals is many landlords just doesn't care how the property looks and what goes on there because he doesn't live there anymore.

I am very aggravated of the terrible looks you get when you tell someone you rent. Who wants the hassle of owning a home? Home owners have property taxes that are on the rise and you are stuck there for 30 years unless you are lucky enough to sell. You are also responsible for all repairs and many of them can be very expensive, such as replacing the roof, furnace, electrical work, and plumbing. That can run into the thousands and who has the money nowadays? I prefer to rent because I have the freedom to leave whenever I desire. Who says renters are a disgrace to the neighborhood? It sounds like renters are the smarter ones over all!

Now a days, a lot of people can't afford the mortgage on their house because some have lost their job or are going through a terrible divorce. You simply can not judge a person.

There have been times when I was very hesitant living next to certain people who were renters. From their appearance I was judging them as to being a nice, neat, clean, organized, and reliable tenant. To my surprise, I have been completely wrong about some of these people. You really need to take your chances and rent to whomever is interested in an apartment. You can not be too choosy.

I’ve been a renter and I’ve been a homeowner, and honestly, I can’t remember when my home has been even near the worst looking on the lot. Far from it. Even when I was in college the home a few of us students rented became the nicest looking house on the block. It might have been due to the fact that we were Architecture students, Environmental Planning students and Landscape Architecture students. It might also have been due to the fact that all of us were raised mowing lawns, fixing fences and doing chores around the house, rather than being allowed to sit in front of a TV or computer.

As a renter, I’ve encountered both good landlords and lousy ones. I remember one landlord who wouldn’t allow a bucket of paint to be taken off the rent. A light switch cover that had broken was “good enough” with some duct tape over the crack. Cleaning up an overgrown yard was expected and only more water to allow even more overgrowth was covered by the land owner. Trash bags for the plant waste was considered part of the usual expenses of a household and not reimbursed.

Good landlords have reimbursed materials for what turned into almost a major renovation. I contributed the labor, but when it came to the re-siding of a whole side of the house and replacement of the eaves, which were rotted to the point of almost falling down, the landlord put up the cash for that labor, as well.

A neighboring house was rapidly deteriorating as I built my current house. An investor who claimed to own 12 rental properties bought it. He and his crew of one came in, replaced failing pipes, wiring and drywall, then primed and painted the exterior. These were all good actions, but the choice of final house color he chose from his past. He loves this color, a deep bluish green with white trim. Unfortunately, in the prior neighborhood, the color fit, but in this forested area, the color really clashes with the surrounding natural greens of the trees.

All in all, there are good homeowners and bad, fine landlords and poor, true neighbors and careless renters. Trying to generalize doesn’t help. A residential area that truly is a neighborhood has residents who care for each other and the community. A place where houses happen to be near each other has a great chance of becoming less than a desirable place to live. If your neighbors are friends, it is really likely the value of the homes will increase, rather than fall. It is also likely you will make friends with the renters on the block and they, too, will become true neighbors.