In this particular case, my defense is against drawing conclusions with no evidence to back them up. It may be that the only thing this situation has to do with short term rentals is that the home is listed on airbnb. There is no information that the man was renting the home and there was no information that the home was rented for less than six months. The accusation of an assault and the word "airbnb" in the same article led to a big assumption in the post I commented on.

Overall, I object to more government interference into my life. I agreed to the restrictions currently on my deed, I don't agree to having those restrictions expanded. I don't want further restrictions on the color I can paint my driveway and I don't want further restrictions on what I can do in my home. There are already ordinances concerning noise, litter, and parking - if a resident (permanent, snowbird, 6-month renter, or 3-day renter) is causing a problem then utilize the local authorities to enforce those ordinances. Kids? I'm not old enough to be one of those "get off my lawn" people.

I don't currently don't live next to a problem rental property and perhaps my opinion would change if I did. There are three rental properties on my street and I don't know how long they are rented for but whoever lives there is causing no problems.

I still wonder (as I also mentioned in another post) are there really hundreds or thousands of problem short term rentals or have their been a small handful of problems that are being referenced to disparage an entire industry?

That's a very good question... One in which I don't think anyone has they answer...

During the summer, I live in a resort/vacation area. We have 500 homes in the development, of which 100 are now used as STR's. Many of them are disruptive to the neighborhood, mostly because of the intensive use during the 10 week summer season.

We have 3 bedroom homes, hosting 12-15 people. Our water system can't supply water, our neighborhood roads can't handle the traffic, our beach isn't big enough and our land won't support the sewerage discharge, to say nothing of the fact, that "short term vacationers" aren't always the most considerate neighbors.

In The Villages, my street has 3-4 STR's I can see when I look out my front door. I have witnessed zero problems, other than perhaps, folks putting out their trash on the wrong day.

Just for the record, I'm philosophically opposed to STR's in a Residential Zone. I think over time, they destabilize neighborhoods. I believe The Villages marketing and deed restrictions preclude the use of single family homes, as motels.

I think the visceral response some folks have on the subject in The Villages, is more related to your statement above:: "I'm not old enough to be one of those "get off my lawn" people".

The Villages is without a doubt, the least "tolerant" community I've ever seen. As we get older, we seem more resistant to change and less accepting of inconvenience and/or the unexpected. Put 130,000+ seniors together and you have the perfect storm. If today is different than yesterday, something is wrong and it's not me. It's the "renters", it's the "snowbirds" or it's the Northerners (or the roundabouts, the hours at the pool or dogs pooping).

Luckily, we don't have many "minorities" (of the LGBQ, color or religious persuasion) in TV. If we did, we'd see intolerance rise to new heights.

Why Import More Problems
 

Everyone has his/her problems. My question is why ask for more? STR renters just add fuel to the fire after others are settled. The latest 20 year old senior citizen abuser is just an add on that should have never occurred. Instead some greedy landlord had to make extra bucks at our community’s expense. It wasn’t necessary.

I could not find anything in the article you linked to or the original article about the arrest that mentioned a senior citizen. That paper usually adds that information. Do you have another source for that claim?

And, you forgot the word "accused."

Yes, for example, when you can’t get in your neighborhood swimming pool because there is no more chairs available because of all the STR and their guests etc, day after day, I would say there is a serious problem. How do I know they are renters? Because I talk to them and my neighbors regularly.

Do owners & their guests, use fewer chairs than renters & their guests?

Do owners "double up" and sit on each other's laps?

I see over-crowding at our beach in NH due to renters, but of the 4 or 5 STR's in my TV neighborhood, I've never seen one occupied by more than a "couple". I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I never see it.

So they are all over 30 and all have guest passes? If so, then is it the STRs that are overcrowding the pools or is it the guests of the “permanent “ people?

If they are not all over 30 or do not all have passes then use the mechanisms that exist to enforce the rules that exist

Yes! Owners have guests some of the time not All the time. Owners usually accompany their family or friends often mentioning what the expectations are in TV. They are proud of who they invite and prefer neighbors to like them too. If grandson throws the peanut shells all over the pool grandmother picks it up in front of him. Don’t compare the owners guests to the average STR!

Also, we have had the SAME number of owners and their guests year after year as my neighborhood is 14 years old. It has always been pleasant even in the winter. Last year the STR hordes arrived.

I can see that what slum landlords are trying to do is desperately justify the polluting of the lifestyle intended for the residents by STRs.

True, all for money and indifference to those who earned their right to full time residency. The latest renter article tells of a 20 year old renter(are they ever vetted by landlords) making a female his personal punching bag.

We don’t know what this guy does outside the Villages. We just know he isn’t eligible normally to live here (unless he can find an STR). It’s a shame an STR owner thought it was OK.

Also technically false. Forget technically, just plain false. Nothing at all preventing him from renting for a month ir a year. In fact, no reason to believe he had not rented for three months. But why let accuracy matter at this point?

Question - it’s obvious who on this thread are the owners of STR’s - however, they adamantly refuse to admit it. Why? If I was an STR landlord, I would come out and say so. If I wasn’t a STR landlord, I wouldn’t be so passionate and over-board in defending them.

STR Owners
 

I can tell you why, it is very unpopular to be an STR owner right now. Case in point: about a month ago some lady listed an STR “a place to stay for your extended family Yadda, Yadda….” on our village’s Facebook page. It was a pulled post within the half hour. Why, she was brutally bashed by all the locals as an STR owner. STR owners are not a popular group to be in right now.

I guess you’re right - it just comes across as “dishonest’ to me to argue in favor of STR’s and not disclose you have a vested interest in seeing them flourish and succeed.

In my villa neighborhood, 50% of all new homes are not owner-occupied. Of that 50% that are rentals, half (or 25% of all villa properties) are STR’s. I have two STR’s across the street from me and one next door. One street over from me, there are 5 STRs in a row (all have for rent signs up in their windows as we speak) - obviously, this is the #1 conversation from neighbors here and at the pools - I have yet to talk to a single owner-resident in our village who favors STRs - Most of the STR landlords here are fellow villagers (I know this because over the last few months, I have met most of them, as they have stopped by to introduce themselves to me, and most have asked that I keep an eye on their respective properties and call them if anything seems to be out of the ordinary.

I try to avoid all the negative talk about STRs (I don’t like them, nor the noise, parking issues, garbage left out several days before trash pickup, etc), but what am I to do? I try to ignore the issue as best as I can, and enjoy my retirement, but it is definitely an issue, and the#1 gripe of most neighbors where I live.

Careful! If you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.