Renters

Data may show that the housing markets are in recovery, but a lot of people are still asking: Why buy a home anyway? The housing bust has created great skepticism about the traditional connection between homeownership and the American dream, a survey commissioned by the MacArthur Foundation has found. The How Housing Matters Survey, released Wednesday, found that more than three-quarters of Americans believe we are still in the middle of the housing crisis or that the worst is yet to come.

Here are some tips for small-time landlords who are worried about losing tenants at a time when options for renters are greater than ever. From Multifamily Executive Magazine, these renewal tactics are aimed at professional property managers, but they work for amateurs just as well: Start early. Don't wait for the final month -- or worse, until your tenants contact you. Several months out, contact the tenants to try to determine their intentions. If need be, offer to keep the rent at the same level.

Decorating according to your dreams and fantasies is more about imagination than it is about money. Jennifer and Robert Hyndman of Laguna Beach and Geanna Brayford and Ken Wood of Huntington Beach are two couples who shared a dream: to live near the beach in a house that has a history as well as a garden for entertaining. Both were able to find affordable older houses that filled the bill. The Hyndmans' 1940s house has hardwood floors, a fireplace and a garage.

Pyne Castle, Walter Estel Pyne's Normandy Revival creation one mile north of downtown Laguna Beach, is on the market for the first time in 40 years. An eccentric and frugal entrepreneur, Pyne sold player-pianos through his Santa Ana franchise, but it was the discovery of oil on his agricultural land that gave him the resources to build the 62-room mansion he originally named Broadview Villa on 100 lots. Constructed from 1927 to 1935, it has a number of French and British characteristics including two steeply pitched turrets, broken hip roofs, pointed as well as soft arched windows and Gothic interior accents.

After months of contentious dispute over whether the city of Lancaster was discriminating against minority residents who receive public housing assistance, city officials and civil rights groups have reached an official agreement. The NAACP and the Community Action League have dropped a lawsuit alleging that the city was harassing black and Latino residents holding Section 8 vouchers in an effort to drive them out. In exchange, Lancaster officials have agreed to make it clear that the city does not condone discrimination against Section 8 renters, most of whom are black and Latino.

The owners of four Orange County apartment complexes have been named in a class-action lawsuit that alleges the landlords discriminate against blacks and families with children. In a suit filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, lawyers for three black renters and three families with children allege that the owners of the complexes commonly told black applicants that there were no vacancies when in fact apartments were available.

Renters vs. Homeowners Satisfaction Percent Homeowners satisfied with their houses 80 Renters satisfied with their apartments 66 Homeowners who say their neighborhood is a good place to raise children 81 Renters who say their neighborhood is a good place to raise children 41

Regarding "Secession's Impact on Homes" by Diane Wedner (June 30): Let the renting public know that if the Valley secedes, renters will no longer have the protection of rent control. The property owners don't want the renters to know that. Alert the public that they may lose their rights as renters. I, for one, would have to move to another state if that were to happen. I also don't know how anyone these days can afford to pay $1,000 to $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment. It's appalling.

After reading the letters regarding the pet deposit/damage issue, I felt the need to write. I hope landlords (and renters who are considering adopting a pet) realize that the letters you printed detailed extreme cases. The majority of pets do not cause such damage. The animals in the letters appear to have medical problems and uncaring owners. I realize it is difficult for a landlord to know whether potential renters with pets will have these problems. But, with reference checks and reasonable deposits, the majority of problems can be eliminated.

Based on a random survey of 220 California households. House/mobile home dwellers: 95.7% Apartment dwellers: 56.3 Townhouse/condo dwellers: 68.4 Owners: 93.1 Renters: 77.4 SOURCE: R.L. Polk Co., University of California Cooperative Extension.