Good morning Randy. You tell a story common in modern cities and suburbs. Landlords and home owners have different priorities. When owner occupied homes turn into rentals, landlords' priorities are dominant and neighborhoods decline. However, this is not common in small towns and cities that serve rural populations. The reason is worth noting.

Small towns and cities followed traditional urban models which were basically high density, mixed-use urban cores and mixed-income housing in surrounding neighborhoods. This arrangement produced sustainable neighborhoods, for hundreds of years. This is the way it works.

In traditional mixed-income neighborhoods, homes sizes range from 650 square feet on tiny lots to 4,500 square foot homes on an acre of land all on the same block. Resident's incomes on these blocks range from minimum wage and social security, to millionaires. Low-income families are motivated to stay in these rentals and landlords are motivated to maintain their rentals.

When people make more money, they buy bigger homes on larger properties in the same neighborhood. Instead of selling their starter homes, they tend to rent them out. Because these landlords still live in these neighborhood, they are motivated to maintain their rentals lest run-down rentals drag their own home values down. These landlords also lobby local government hard, so streets, sidewalks, sewers, trees etc. are well maintained.

That's the reason I am curious. Were the rentals you inherited located in the neighborhoods where you and your brother live?