Hickory Hills Neighbors

Have we considered prohibiting rentals in Hickory Hills ?  We have lived here for nine years in Hickory hills.  A couple of years ago a house next to us was rented out.  The home owner lived in Memphis.  For six months, we observed drug dealings from the house, cars being parked on the front lawn continually, and constant vehicle traffic.  It was very disturbing and we worked hard to find a contact phone for the owner.  We finally found her and then, found out they were delinquent on their rent payments.  They were evicted within a couple of months.  I know not all renters are this way.  But, I do believe we put our neighborhood at a greater risk of problems when we allow homes to be rented.  Renters do not have an invested interest in the  home.  Also, if a letter goes out from the association due to violations, the home owner never sees it because the letter goes to the home address.  Do you think the renter will do any thing about it ?  Usually, not.  Well, Guess what ?  This same house is being rented again.  I know that there are many subdivisions in Mt. Juliet that prohibit rentals as part of their home owners association so that their property will not be at risk of being devalued.  Please consider this issue by adding the prohibiting of rentals as part of our association bylaws. 

I agree one hundred percent! When selling our previous home in Donelson, my wife and I received two offers within minutes of each other. One was a solid, better-than-asking price offer from an investment company the other was slightly lower, more shaky offer from a family looking for their first home. We immediately accepted the offer  from the family and endured weeks of uncertainty and stress as they attempted to secure financing. Our decision was based entirely on our desire to keep another rental property out of the neighborhood even though we would no longer be neighbors there. It's not that renters are bad people. Part of the problem may be that they have no stake in what happens to the neighborhood and/or the value of the property around them. Or, the problem may be that this is just the perception of potential home buyers looking in the area. Either way the result is a negative effect on nearby property values.

I agree that this should be part of the HOA bylaws. The primary goal of a homeowners association is to protect property values of the community. One thing I have learned from the recent re-zoning issue, is that I have been completed negligent in my duties as a Hickory Hills property owner by not attending the HOA meetings. I am now determined not to miss another one. I hope everyone reading this will do the same.