Section 8

[Lisandro Garcia]

I am a newbie to the real estate game.. I am currently focused in wholesaling because its one of the easiest real estate niches to get into .. I have some capital and i am considering investing in houses to rent out my question is does anybody know what are the regulations for the section 8 program in South Jersey .. i am going to be focusing on low income houses in urban nieghborhoods , I think section 8 is the best way to go

[Andrew Fidler]

@Anthony Petrozzella wow a blast from that past, 12 years ago!

SOOOOO somewhere up here in BP land you will find me talking ~2017 about my original section 8 house here in Toledo and projecting that I had collected ~$60,000 in rental income.

Guess what, I STILL have that house rented section 8 to the same resident. I think the original rent rate was around $700/mo so given that and 12 yrs of continuous rental we have now cracked $100,800 in gross income. Sure the house had repairs and maintenance but it's been a solid earner so Section 8 (LMH - Lucas Metro Housing) may be my nemesis with delays and bureaucracy but as long as you push through the silliness it's not bad at all over the long term.

The current rent rate for my area (43612, 3/1 SFH) is $1200/mo.

I do NOT have my resident raised to the market rate or apply aggressive increases...the house is presently rented at $800. 

WHY??? Because the property turns a massive profit without getting greedy. I bought the place back in the good-old-days for $11,500 and learned very early on if you raise rents to "new-condition pricing", residents commonly respond with a host of repair requests seeking like-new condition for their rental.

Real estate is an amazing vehicle to create wealth, I just try to build it slow and steady and not sweat making it aggressively by over-taxing the poor of the community.

(Before someone jumps up here and says "who care's section 8 pays all the rent whatever the price" when you spend a few years participating in the program you will find that voucher amounts vary widely from 100% funded to less than 25% as the residents earn a wage and contribute to their housing. I am careful how the increases in rent affect the resident's living situation followed in turn by the resident's attitude with me - their property manager - and demands for repairs. It comes down to each person's property management theory)

Thanks for asking about this property!