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To the OP: I think they are probably looked at differently where renting is the norm.
That said, it's a shame there's no rating system for renters much like credit scores. I just spent this weekend cleaning out gutters to keep a courtyard from flooding into the condo building in a property I don't even own in.
I don't think the issue is whether or not you currently own or rent. The issue is whether you have the "owner" or "renter" mindset.
"Owners" tend, on average, to take better care of their yards and their houses. They are more likely to stay longer and to pay bills on time.
"Renters" tend, on average, to be less likely to take care of their house and yard, and tend to move often and bounce more checks.
As a landlord, I LOVE renting to "owners". Even if those "owners" have been renting for a decade since they sold their home.
Then, of course, there are people who cross categories. I hate doing yardwork, so on that one, I am a "renter" mentality, but on the rest, I am of the "owner" category.
And of course, there are the rare breeds who have rented all their lives yet are the "owner" mentality, and vice versa.
Well I hate yard work, but I am renting a condo that doesn't have much outdoor space. So I guess I am a "renter." I don't plan to look for something with personal outdoor space.
I bounced one rent check ever when I was 21, after I tried to float something before payday haha.
I have been renting the same place for almost 7 years (holy cow!). I don't attend HOA meetings (obviously) but I know a good portion of my neighbors and help out. I pay rent on time and am a trouble free tenant. I imagine the percentage of "good" to "bad" people is similar in renter and owner populations.
I rented a condo in a community where about 90% of the residents were resident owners. I took great care to ensure that I didn't "bring the place down" but that was more out of common courtesy than a desire to maintain their property values. I also followed all of the HOA's rules, even the ones I thought were stupid, because I was bound to by the lease.
My attitude of common courtesy has not changed since I became a homeowner, but the motivations behind it may have slightly.
Speaking personally if the house next door to me was sold to an investor who rented it out, I admit I would be wary at first and I would hope that he/she rented it out to someone who is as quiet and courteous as the rest of my neighbors are. But I might feel almost as wary about any property adjacent to mine changing hands. That hasn't happened yet in this neighborhood so it's really impossible to say how I'd feel!
But getting back to the subject at hand...renters...no, they're not universally bad. I wasn't when I was one. As with homeowners, some are bad apples, some aren't. It depends on the individual.
I kind of wonder how much of renters' behavior has to do with the landlords and their influence on property values.
This is obviously anecdotal but I live in a neighborhood with a ton of historic homes that have been destroyed by cutting them up into lofts, apartments, and condos. There's no incentive on the part of the landlords to maintain the properties, since they got them at such a steal. They're already collecting 300% of the monthly mortgage on the units in any one building.
So I wonder if, when you rent a place that's shabby and run down when you move into it, and the landlords view it as a cash cow, but not worthy of upkeep, that mentality trickles down to the renters? Because that's for sure what's going on in my 'hood. One particularly unscrupulous landlord (slumlord, houses are all but falling down, cheats tenants) has bought up about 1/5 of the properties in this neighborhood, and man, they are eyesores. Why bother investing in your community if you can be assured it'll always look like and be treated like a dump? If your landlord sends you the message that you live in a glorified garbage can, what's to stop you from treating it like one?
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