Investing in Ohio-Specifically Section 8

Chino, CA · Member since 2024 · 10 posts · 24 votes

Hello everyone!

New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1

$110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....

12 Reply

221 views

Most Popular Reply

Samuel DioufBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Columbus & Cleveland, OH · Member since 2023 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Hey Nicholas,

There are some great section-8 opportunities here in Columbus. The city is also growing a ton. There are multiple billion dollar companies dumping money into the city, such as Intel, Google, and Amazon.

I'd be happy to share some areas where you'll see the most cash-flow.

[email protected]614-662-1652

Reafco - Samuel Diouf528 Reviews

Website View Page

6 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

34 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Na Gaines
Rental Property Investor · CHicago IL · Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes
2y
New to BP! Beginner,(5/2023) purchased my first investment which was a duplex back home in Chicago IL. As a Rookie I have had a ride. Took a HELOC out for $60k. Used $50 to buy the asset + $30k from savings. Paid $140k(few grand over the 70% rule), quoted $150k to complete the rehab. Didn't get an home inspection because the lender stated they'd take care of the inspections. Assumed they were referring to the home inspections!!! Nope, they meant their inspections. BIG mistake on my part. Started off with termites from the basement to the attic. BUDGET crushed from the start. SOW wasn't as detailed as it should have been. Realtor referred to the GC who was terrible at bookkeeping and communication. GC never pulled any city permits yet charged me (didn't find this out until the job was finished). GC sat on the job waiting for more funds to pay their contractors and tried to strongarm me for more money. Kitchen cabinet handles were placed upside down, cabinet doors were installed backwards, electrical line for thermostat was ran on the inside of the bedroom exposed, trash swept into newly installs vents from the furnace, cracked tub, wall switches were installed sideways in some rooms, wall outlets were installed upside down on some walls, list goes on. Sadly, blew my budget by $100,000. Duplex was not appraised for the amount that the realtor presented. 3 different appraisal short (needed $50k for HELOC) so now I am unable to cash out refi. STRESSED! DEPRESSED! Feeling lost and confidence was completely gone. Paid the realtor to complete the tenant screening and both units were eventually filled. Due to my W2 employment I cant have any bad/negative personal debt. So now I'm faced with the potential of loosing EVERYTHING job, house, car, wife...Finally I stopped focusing on what was wrong and focused on the solutions. In a last ditch effort I sold my personal home and made about $200k from the equity. Paid off HELOC, paid off business credit ($70k) that was personal guaranteed. Confidence gone! Trying to start on the next deal with about $20k from the sale. Lost on where to start. Reside in Charlestown WV (D.M.V.), but my existing LLCs is based in VA and IL. Any suggestions on where I should take my next step in the right direction. Thanks In advance for your time.
0 Reply
Christine Wong
Investor · Upstate NY · Member since 2015 · 29 posts · 10 votes
1y
@Nicholas Nakamura I’m an out of state investor. I can definitely share who NOT to trust your property with if you want to send me a private message.
0 Reply
Travis Biziorek
Investor · Arroyo Grande, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Hey Nicholas,

If you’re looking at Section 8 investing in Ohio, I’d definitely encourage you to take a look at Detroit as well. The market has a lot of strong points right now: affordable entry prices, great rent-to-price ratios, and high demand for rentals, especially in the Section 8 space.

What’s even more exciting is the direction Detroit is heading. Property values have been appreciating rapidly in recent years, and the city’s population has started growing again—a trend we haven’t seen in decades.

I’m also based in California and have been investing in Detroit for several years, so I understand the concerns of out-of-state investing. That said, it’s been a great market for me—strong cash flow, significant appreciation, and plenty of opportunity for investors who take the time to understand the market’s nuances.

If you decide to explore Detroit further, feel free to reach out—I’m always happy to share insights and what I’ve learned along the way.

Good luck on your investing journey!

—Travis
0 Reply
Zeke Liston
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Nicholas Nakamura:

Hello everyone!
New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1
$110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....

In my experience, very few properties in Ohio are strictly required to operate as Section 8 rentals. That said, I’ve found that properties in C-class neighborhoods tend to perform best with Section 8 tenants. This is largely because I can typically get higher rents in B and A-class neighborhoods without relying on Section 8.
I’d recommend focusing your search on C and C+ neighborhoods, for both multi-family and single-family homes with more than three bedrooms. Three bedroom units can yield up to $1,568 per month through CMHA (Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority).

0 Reply
Alfath AhmedBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus, OH · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Nicholas Nakamura:

Hello everyone!
New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1
$110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....

Section-8 investing is great. The standards have changed. They are now renting by the zipcodes. I can send the section-8 standards per zipcode. You will average about 0.8% rules here in Columbus with section-8 rents.
[email protected]614-802-5698
ReafCo | Ahmed Group 530 Reviews
Website View Page
0 Reply
Hiyun Park
New to Real Estate · Member since 2024 · 16 posts · 16 votes
1y
Quote from @Nicholas Nakamura:

Hello everyone!
New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1
$110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....

Hi Nicholas - I also live in CA and looking to invest in midwest for section 8 housing. I noticed that your initial post was from 4 months ago and would love to connect with you to pick your brain about your progress over last few months :)
0 Reply
James Wise
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Nicholas Nakamura:

Hello everyone!
New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1
$110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....

The Cleveland market would allow you to hit those numbers easily. For more info on Cleveland you'll want to read The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. Basically when you compare Cleveland to Riverside, California most every Cleveland deal will look amazing to you on paper. This is not the case. You can lose your butt out here if you don't buy right. The guide should help you out in that respect.
0 Reply
- Howard L.
  Investor · Carrollton, TX · Member since 2013 · 12 posts · 2 votes
  1y
  Quote from @James Wise:
  
  Quote from @Nicholas Nakamura:
  
  Hello everyone!
  New here to the forum and I am currently looking to invest in Ohio for the purpose of providing section 8 housing. I have about 1
  $110K to invest, and I am looking to invest in the next few months. Any and all guidance is greatly appreciated. Thank you! Looking forward to the journey ahead....
  
  The Cleveland market would allow you to hit those numbers easily. For more info on Cleveland you'll want to read The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. Basically when you compare Cleveland to Riverside, California most every Cleveland deal will look amazing to you on paper. This is not the case. You can lose your butt out here if you don't buy right. The guide should help you out in that respect.
  
  How much change in grade has there been since this guide seems to be 8 years old?
  
  Edit: Nevermind, saw you commented on your guide saying that you keep it updated.
  1 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.