Rental market should not be viewed as a cash cow
To the editor:
Cape Coral is a changing city. We have enjoyed the space and the freedom of living here for eight years. I have not followed local government very well but read often in letters to the editor concerns about growth at the expense of plants, trees, residential neighborhoods and changing established landmarks such as the Yacht Club building.The pine woods are hard to lose to developments but Ian destroyed our forests so the loss of forest is not so great. They were destroyed anyway.
But I am taken aback at the new apartment buildings being constructed in so many areas, many in the heart of conventional residential neighborhoods. On the one hand I feel bad about the change in the neighborhood and on the other hand I like to see people who are being bullied by house landlords have an avenue to escape selfish and greedy claws of house landlords.
I live in a neighborhood that uses well water. Mine is a new home and had a water system when I moved into it but the contractor, like so many, tried to make every extra buck he could and did not put in a system with potable water. It was so salty that I could not drink or cook with it. So, I installed a reverse osmosis system and have a good supply of excellent water.
A new landlord in the neighborhood bought a house with a reverse osmosis system and unbelievably removed it from the house. The renters had to live with bad water and their pleas and lack of potable water in the house fell on deaf ears. It took them a short time to decide that was not the way to live and moved out. After raising rents in this area by 25-40%, you would think landlords could afford to leave a system installed that is already there. That is one of the greediest actions I have seen but I see rentals in my neighborhood that are neglected by the owners who act like slum landlords.
This act is only one of many ways that landlords shortchange their renters to make an extra buck. This is an illustration of greed at its highest. Corporations are grabbing as much real estate as they can at the lowest buck they can find. Then they squeeze every ounce of money they can by providing poor service and a downgraded product. I am concerned that their aggression in the market ruins the opportunities for people to own their own homes.
It offends me that some in America have lost their respect and desire to provide a proper rent or product to the customer. They are letting greed guide their management of the property showing their moral values.
Oh well, they are only imitating our socialistic government in Washington, who are buying votes with taxpayer money instead of improving America.
John A. Benedict
Cape Coral