Neglectful owners aren’t neighborly

My husband and I have lived in the same house for 21 years. We are living on what you would call “the edge” of what is considered the place to live in San Clemente.

This neighborhood, when established, included single-family homes and apartments. Many of us have loved, nurtured and improved our homes over time, and our properties are worth more than we could afford to buy if we had to start over today.

But despite the increase in our equity and the desire to stay put in a familiar neighborhood and enjoy our homes, many surrounding apartment buildings and even some homes have been allowed to deteriorate. In our case, the biggest offender is right next door.

This particular building is neither owned by nor managed by a person local to San Clemente. I believe absentee owners and landlords who do not care about their properties also do not care about our properties. They are not present in our neighborhoods where we live every day; this is just another notch in an investment portfolio.

What happened to pride of ownership or respect for other people and their property?

SUZANNE S. FERNANDEZ

San Clemente