We all should take pride in property
By: Jerry Johnson 12/01/2014
I recently read Vicki
Young’s article “Rental properties for a good cause, fixing what needs to be
fixed” in the October Camden News. The
issue is a triple-headed coin. I am not a landlord nor have I ever been one. I
have been a Camden homeowner for 15 years and found there are multiple problems
with rental properties. I have also seen homeowners themselves neglect their
property and take little or no pride in home ownership.
My neighbor’s
experience with rental property has been pretty dismal and we’ve had numerous
problems with rentals over the years. A lot of landlords buy cheap, invest a
minimal amount of money into their properties and don’t do a good job of
screening tenants. A lot of the neglected properties that Young mentioned are
also due in part to the tenants. Loud parties, trash in the yard, sidewalks
don’t get shoveled, lawns don’t get mowed, screens ripped out of doors and
windows, etc. And renters tend to come and go—no commitment to neighborhood—two
of the rentals on my block have been a revolving door of renters.
So we have multiple
issues that must be dealt with. Homeowners who don’t keep up appearances,
renters who don’t particularly care cause it’s not their property, and
landlords who do a “disappearing act” in maintaining their properties and
keeping tabs on their tenants.
Jerry Johnson,
Victory