So, I built a free Section 8 deal analyzer after getting burned on a bad underwrite
I've been investing in Section 8 / HCV rentals for a while and kept running into the same problem: underwriting these deals is tricky and sometimes a nightmare if you don't know how much the actual payment standard for the property address is.
You've got to look up the correct payment standard from the housing authority website (if you can even find it), cross-reference it against the actual market rent, then run three different loan scenarios conventional, DSCR, and hard money if you're doing BRRRR all in separate spreadsheets or calculators.
I got burned on a deal because I used the metro wide payment standard, seems simple but it cost me real money.
So, I built a tool specifically for Section8/HCV investors: DealZilla (deal-zilla.com)
Here's what it does:
Enter an address or ZIP and the 2026 HUD payment standard loads automatically. Zip code level payment standards not the typical metro wide ones that HUD.gov post. No more digging through PHA websites because I did it for everyone I called went to all their websites, call them and email them to get the accurate voucher payment standards.
- Runs Conventional, DSCR, and Hard Money BRRRR analysis side by side so you can compare all three before you call a lender
- Full BRRRR exit modeling — hard money carry cost, ARV refi sizing, cash left in the deal, post-refi cash flow
- Live rental comps + AVM via RentCast to verify the Section 8 rent against actual market
- Offer Price Engine — tells you the max you can pay per loan type and still hit your cash flow, CoC, and DSCR targets
- Covers 14 states, 29+ metros including Ohio, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and more being added every day
- Free to create account and trial every single feature.
I built it because I couldn't find anything that handled the Section 8 side of underwriting properly everything was generic rental calculators that didn't know what a payment standard truly was.
Would love feedback from other HCV investors and landlord What metros are you working in? I'd be happy to add markets that aren't covered yet. I think we Section 8 BRRRR investors are a unique bunch and I know numbers matter to us.