That’s the word on the street from some communities out there. They’d rather have your house empty and foreclosed upon than rented out and occupied! I’m not digging that boss.

But according to an article i just read in Feb’s SmartMoney mag (pg. 91), that’s what a good 40% of homeowners associations are restricting – your option to rent out your own place!

Did you even know they could DO this? Maybe I’m naive, but i’ve never heard of this before. Granted i’m not living in a fancy-pants community, but if i want to rent out MY house, then i should have the right to do just that (and luckily our association agrees). Here’s a quick excerpt:

“For owners who have to move or who own houses as investment properties, short-term rentals can bring in some cash and keep them from having to sell at a big loss. But instead of greeting renters with hosannas, many towns and subdivisions are barring their doors, arguing that tenants usher in neglect, misbehavior and even violent crime.”

Yikes! I’m no theory expert, but I’d MUCH rather take the chance that a few neighbors get a bit rowdy than have them file for bankruptcy or leave the house empty for all sorts of vagabonds to convene. Plus, you have to remember that if your neighbors can’t pay their mortgage and can’t sell/rent it out, your own home will eventually drop in value.

As many of you know, there are already 2 houses sitting empty in my very own cul-de-sac!!! And i gotta tell you, i often get the shivers when i walk by and see those dead-dark windows w/out a hint of movement in them. We’re lucky enough to not have to worry about crack houses springing up and all, but it’s still not a cheery site to see. Of course, there are plenty of pros and cons for every situation, and below are a few of these. I tried my best to be fair here, but i’m sure it’ll still come out biased ;) But hell, i’m a blogger not a journalist! Here’s what i came up with:

Pros to renting out your house:

• You don’t have to foreclose!
• Your neighbors are HAPPY you don’t have to foreclose ;)
• You can wait out the downturn w/out selling at an incredible loss.
• You can move to another home quicker.
• You help a renter live in a nice home!

Cons to renting out your house:

• Chance of sucky-a$$ renters causing trouble & making noise.
• Chance of sucky-a$$ renters causing a lot of damage.
• Chance of community losing value if ratio of renting/owning gets pretty high.

The debate will go on forever, but it’ll always be a controversial one. And now that i’m a home owner myself, i’m pretty sure i’ll always be on the side of renting here. Cuz I gotta tell you, if Britney Spears ever wants to rent from J. Money, then Britney Spears will freakin’ rent from J. Money ;) So yeah, that’s what i think about it anyways…