Section Eight Tenants

There are no advantages and/or disadvantages really. You (landlord) choose who (out of candidates who are on the program) will rent your property as long as you don't discriminate. You have to make sure your property is up to Housing Authority's standards to be on the program as a landlord. HA authorizes what amt the tenant is allow to pay in rent base on county and area of property; they can't go over their voucher amt. You get a check from the HA and the tenant would pay the rest if they're capable to do so. If they are late or break the lease, you report them, they get kick off the program. If they mess your place up (other than whats expected as normal wear and tear) they get kick out of program. Its that simple.

It cannot be said any better Alana. It's exactly as you said it. Sometimes we feel getting the money from Section 8 is better, but we also have to consider that since the tenants are paying very little out of pocket expense, they feel they have no responsibility to take care of the property. Even though you will get it from other tenants not related to Section 8. However, it is always a risk you will have to take. It is all about doing business.

Sandra

Hello,
It was my understanding if the tenant made damage to the dwelling,You would be compensated.

Explained perfectly altcamel. As he said, you get paid by the government i know in ny a 2 bed room is 1444, you can negotiate with the renter to make up the difference if you want more. They usually will give you 3 months rent upfront and 1 months security. you basically need smoke detectors and if its more then 1 floor and children under 14 will be living there, you will have to have window guards on the upper floors.
hope that helps.
Richie

Alana couldnt have said any better than me. It was right to the point. Thanks again !!

Warm regards,

Paul T. La Moy

Hi Rdalhouse,
There is a great advantage of having a section 8 renter. The plus side is that it is guarenteed rent! Your tennant can be screened just as if they were not section 8. You can ask for a reference and credit check with them also. They can also be converted to a first time buyer. There are programs that allow low income working familys or single parents on assistance to buy a home. So if someone who has hopes of purchasing their first home this will be an incentive for them, to give this option. There is no guarentee with any renter that they will not destroy or become a difficult renters. There are some in this economy may lose their employment down the road or become divorced and become a difficult tennant as well. They could become more costly to evict. A section 8 renter has a case manager that will hold them responsible for damages. The property can be inspected every so often. In my opinion it is more advantages than a disadvantage. A guarentee check is a guarenteed check. Continued success........Lubertha

I just spoke with someone today who buys properties in East Detroit and rehabs them to only rent them out to the Section 8 tenants. His logic is that he buys 30-40K houses and after rehabs and all, renting to section 8 tenants makes more sense because it is a steady income and he has positive cash flow from them.

Yuri

I was considering investing in Detroit, real estate up there is dirt cheap (literally be had for pennies on the dollar). I'm interested in mostly 2 family or more properties.

If you want, I can get you together with that investor. He has a team in place: his own employees, contractors, etc. He can help and direct you or even find you tenants and properties.

Yuri

send me a PM

Yes i would more than appreciate that kind of resource so please do he or she could email me @ [edit: please do not post emails or phone numbers] thank you very much agin.

The only thing that I can add here is that a tenant is a tenant. There are good,decent, bad, and horrible amongst any tenant pool. Section 8 sometimes do have a higher rate of maintenance calls, but this is offset by generally higher rents and a guaranteed check.

Please be careful in the midwest investing in economies that are not diverse. I am not saying that there arent good opportunities, its just that deals as were proposed here (30-40k)can be had in better economies that will still cashflow just as well. Columbus OH,and Indianapolis, IN to name a couple. Please qualify all deals well, and benchmark against other areas.

Regards,
Tony Tomasek

In texas, so what the heck is a section 8 tenant? Is that a HUD approved, low income person?
erh

Hi ERH,
It is a grant that assist in housing cost based on your income. It can be a grant either funded from the state or county. Much success......Lubertha

We learn as we go. How do we find out about these tenants are do they just call us? Is there a government office that we can call in our perspective areas to find this out?
thanks again,
erh

Hi ERH,
You just call your local social service office and they should have a section eight or housing assistant dept. and they will usually have a list of tennants readily available to rent. They also have in my state renters that could qualify to purchase homes. There are incentives they offer low income families that qualify. Ask what programs are availible in your state. Continued success........Lubertha

This is my first post, so bare with me. I'm in the process of finding a property to buy & hold. I have found a few and most have tenents in place and are section 8. I looked on the HUD website and found that HUD is not accepting any "new" applications for Section 8, but will honor exisiting application. This sounds like budget cuts to me. Does anyone know of possible changes in the program (lower $ support)this year? I'm trying to find out why this investor is liquidating.

Thanks

I'm not sure where most of you live, but in NYC there alot of landlords who don't want to be bothered and there are some who can deal. Here are some advantages and disadvantages;

1. Guaranteed check-advantage

2. Crappy tenants who don't care about your property and will tear up your stuff-disadvantage

3. See # 1

4. See # 4

I personally would chose not to have section 8 tenants in my properties; I haven't heard enough good stories to want to risk taking a chance. I do know that there are good families or people out there who are just donw on their luck and need a chance, but I can't see myself taking that chance. I prefer working people.