HOA's Pitted Against Renters

The Arizona Republic reports that with more and more homes being rented in the Valley, homeowners and HOA's worried about blight are being increasingly pitted against renters who say they're treated like second class citizens.

Jay Butler, director of the Arizona Real Estate Center at ASU, estimates that 20 to 30 percent of people buying existing houses during the past year were investors who probably rented the homes out. Homeowners with renter neighborhoods say their experiences justify the negative image of renters. "Renters will do the minimum; they're in a house because they need a place to live; it's not theirs, and they usually don't care that much for keeping things up," said William Nagle, former president of Silverton Ranch HOA in Chandler.

HOA's are facing problems too, with many new neighborhoods experiencing a large percentage of renters and some problems. More...

Look for this trend to continue until investors sell their investment properties to owner-occupied users.