Appraisals Sales of homes in the past 3-6 months are normally used by appraisers performing appraisals for sales or refinance purposes. So if you are refinancing or selling a home, the appraisal will be affected by recent sales of rental homes to investors which normally are sold at much lower prices.
Section 8 The elimination of centralized housing authorities and expansion of Section 8 housing has scattered poor residents throughout apartment and single family residential communities. Since these families are on normally on limited budgets to begin with and often lack the experience of property maintenance, the landscaping and general maintenance issues are often ignored by the tenant and sometimes the landlord.
HOA Rules and Enforcement If there is no HOA, there is no limitation of how many properties can be rented in a subdivision which on average those properties will not be as well maintained as those that are occupied by the owners. If there is an HOA, it depends how strong the CCRs (i.e., HOA rules) are to authorize HOA maintenance of the property (i.e., gives HOA authority to perform work on properties) or at least have the authority to place fines/liens on the property to get the owner’s attention to take better care of it.
Quality of life Sometimes, a tenant who is inconsiderate or demonstrates undesirable behavior will not be concerned about their behavior, garbage, noise, music, motorcycle, work schedule on their cars in their garage, etc,., that causes discomfort to other neighbors.
Limitation of how many people live there What seems to be a rental home to one family may spread to other family members, or even non-related individuals living with the tenants. Even though there lease restrictions or local governmental codes may prohibit extra parties living in a home, the extent of enforcement of such codes may vary. You need to check with the local zoning authorities regardless of whether you live in an HOA or not.
Yes, some homeowners either choose to not maintain their property due to financial distress or just irresponsibility, but most homeowners do take better care on average.
Source of inspiration: MDJ, 8-10-2014, 3E.