'For Rent' signs-Moultonborough

[fatlazyless]

"...the owners of the largest rental broker are, not coincidentally, none other than the Moultonborough Town Moderator and chairman of the Board of Education." is probably considered the 'meat & potatoes' sentence from a letter to the editor in today's January 7 Laconia Daily Sun.

Apparently the letter writer is none too pleased with an upcoming proposal to rescind the Moultonborough rule against posting 'For Rent' signs out front of residential properties for a few different reasons listed in the letter. He estimates that rescinding the rule to allow signs could make for approximately 300 different signs showing up all around Moultonborough.

Is there some type of a balance out there that would work between getting a property rented and what makes the town not look too "signy," or something like that?

Local sign ordinances are just that, a local issue which gets decided on a town by town basis. Some towns have ordinances that prohibit or restrict 'For Sale' and 'For Rent' signs and some towns do not. Unlike political signs which are guaranteed to expire on election day, the 'For Rent' signs can stay out there for weeks and sometimes even months. So, what's the Town of Moultonborough going to do on this 'For Rent' sign issue?

When I get some time later on today I'll post the whole letter here, as opposed to just a snipet, and it's a real well written letter.

I don't know how I feel about this issue of 'For Rent' signs. It's pretty obvious that in Meredith posting 'For Sale' signs has been happening for many many years but do not know about 'For Rents.'

Here's a few fast questions that come to mind on this.

- Would it make a neighborhood or a street look unattractive?

- Is it helpful for finding a renter for the property?

- Would it have the unintended consequence of driving property values down if there were a lot of 'For Rent' signs posted around town?

- The letter writer strongly suggested that posting a "For Rent' sign makes the property an invitation to vandalism or to a break-in because the sign announces that the property is unoccupied, which may not be even be the case.

- How about 'For Rent By Owner' as opposed to just 'For Rent'; should an owner have the privilege of posting a sign on their own property while a real estate agent does not?

- Preferred Rentals and Caldwell Banker are two businesses, side by side, separated within the same building by a common wall between the two. One has to wonder if Caldwell Banker-Moultonborough which has the ability to post 'For Sale' signs would be in favor of passing a law to allow 'For Rent' signs considering that it might be perceived to make the town look tacky. Would the suggested number of 300 'For Rent' signs, all around the town, be a positive or a negative for Moultonborough?

This issue has a number of different things to consider and hopefully some people who live in Moultonborough will come forward with their opinions.