US home prices rise 12.2 percent, best in 6 years

[Divernan]

15. I'm not happy about a market turning single family homes into rental properties.

There are 2 rental houses across the street from me in my middle class development - both owned by the same Chinese couple, who bought one of the houses when they first came to this country, and then moved into a McMansion (they are both University professors). They immediately turned their old house into a rental property and that was so profitable, they bought the one next door to it when an old owner died.

The turnover is frequent - every 2 years on the average, and the renters don't have an interest in making friends or maintaining the properties - they're already looking ahead to moving again. The landlords are incredibly cheap in terms of repairing the properties, let alone landscaping them or improving them in any way. Basically, those two houses are a drag on the appearance of the block, as well as the property values. Some of the renters seem nice enough; others are prone to loud music and big parties. One of the guests thought it was very amusing to pound on my front door (after midnight) and then urinate in front of my living room picture window. Another time, in the midst of a drunken party, they decided to cut down a beautiful old dogwood tree so they'd have more room to play badminton. Plus other neighbors have had two incidences of burglary by a boyfriend of one renter. Another renter actually chose to park his car in the middle of the lawn, rather than on the driveway or along the curb. A great thing about home ownership is having pride of ownership, being part of a small community and taking careful care of one's main investment.

Pardon the rant - I've been dealing with this for over 20 years! I shudder to think that more of the houses on my street may be turned into rental properties. And I don't mean to insult everyone who rents. I did, myself, for about 4 years following a divorce, and I know many good people who have lost their homes and now rent - it's just a damn shame that owning your own home is fast moving out of the realm of possibility for so many Americans!