Housing communities suffer from influx of renters | Cross River Real Estate

There are a growing number of people renting houses instead of buying since they cannot obtain a mortgage under today’s tougher standards. But due to the influx of renters, housing communities are facing the adverse effects of renter’s disconnect, according to CNBC:

“When there are fewer homeowners, there is less ‘self-help,’ like park and neighborhood cleanup, neighborhood watch,” said William M. Rohe, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who has just completed a review of current research on homeownership’s effects.

Even conscientious landlords and tenants invest less in their property than owner-occupants, he said. “Who’s going to paint the outside of a rental house? You’d almost have to be crazy.”