Because people (justifiably) don't like landlords. You think that people in any given area should be happy that someone who already has somewhere to live is coming into an area that they literally don't know anything about (doesn't sound like you've even been there) and buying up property? When there's a so-called property shortage in no small part driven by landlords who have had no interest in performing improvements on their "investments" while they continue to profit on them?

Whether or not you're as good as a landlord can be is immaterial - landlords mostly fucking suck and you're about to be one if you aren't already.

Some homeowners do not like landlords but it's typically renters. Like the other person said, some landlords are terrible but from my experience as a landlord, some tenants are horrible and downright costly in terms of property damage.

There is a mental leap though when complaining renters themselves can't afford to buy property for whatever reason and thus need rentals to have housing. The price changes according to what the market will bear and renters pay it (again for myriad reasons some of which are really not their fault) even for shitholes which adds to the anger towards landlords.

All that said and having done it, absentee landlords are the worse and paying a property management company 10% to take care of things is almost as bad. We are almost too involved with our property because we really do care but it's generally gone well for us.