"What's the downside?" LOTS!!! Depends on the Housing Authority you're dealing with. They decide what the "Fair Market" value of your rental property is (depending on the number of bedrooms). HUD has the following guidelines of FMR for 2016 by state/county: https://www.housingonline.com/2015/12/16/hud-propo... This does not mean the local housing authority will follow these. For example, in my county HUD's FMR for a 3 bedroom rental is $987 a month. Section 8 limits this to $675 a month and has for years. This often limits Section 8 clients to less than desirable housing. In addition, you must undergo an initial inspection followed by a yearly inspection. Some landlords report failing these if a thread in the carpet is up (it's a "tripping" hazard). For several years our one Section 8 house passed without issue; then a new inspector was hired and we failed due to mold around the bathtub (actually mildew from tenants failing to scrub out the bathtub). Guess who was over there cleaning, bleaching, resealing the tub area during the weekend? Not the tenants; they sat and watched TV while Bill and I cleaned up what they should have been doing. When we failed a second time (this time because the tenants didn't clean the drip pans under the range) we said that's it; we're not participating in this program any longer. We told our tenants they could stay and pay the entire rent or move and we'd increase the rent to fair market value for the place. They stayed another year and then took off with 2 weeks notice and no last month rent, leaving a total mess behind including broken appliances they moved IN with (poor people tend to save EVERYTHING) a decrepit chest high freezer they unplugged half full of food that was impossible to describe as it was covered with maggots by the time we found it, and enough cheap clothing and mismatched shoes to clothe a one legged woman for a year. And these was a family where mom and dad were in their late 50's and dad was still working (the "best" kind of Section 8 family to find). They were quite active in their church. Perhaps the problem was that they had grown daughters who produced children like they were PEZ dispensers and these possum women tended to drop the offspring at mom and dads to raise while they went off on their merry way to produce more babies with every male they dated. Strangely, the church did not appear to frown on those premarital habits. IF you choose to go this route, check out both your local housing office AND your tenants carefully, especially monitoring the number of people who are actually living in your rental property versus what you have approved on your lease. Gail

Followed Discussions Followed Categories Followed People Followed Locations

General Landlording & Rental Properties

Followed Discussions

Followed Categories

Followed People

Followed Locations

Market News & Data

Market Trends & Data

Buying & Selling Real Estate

Out of State Investing

Real Estate News & Current Events

Real Estate Technology

Investor Mindset

General Info

General Real Estate Investing

BiggerPockets Exclusive PRO Area

PRO

BPCON

New Member Introductions

Questions About BiggerPockets & Official Site Announcements

Off Topic

Starting Out

Real Estate Success Stories

Real Estate Horror Stories

Real Estate Strategies

House Hacking

Commercial Real Estate Investing

BRRRR - Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat

Mobile Home Park Investing

Innovative Strategies

Land & New Construction

Multi-Family and Apartment Investing

Wholesaling

Rehabbing & House Flipping

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions presented by

Tax Liens & Mortgage Notes

Medium-Term Rentals

Buying & Selling Small Businesses

Outdoor Hospitality

Landlording & Rental Properties

General Landlording & Rental Properties

Managing Your Property

Marketing Your Property

Tenant Screening

First-Time Home Buyer

Real Estate Professionals

Mortgage Brokers & Lenders

Contractors

Real Estate Agent

Financial, Tax, & Legal

Personal Finance

Creative Real Estate Financing presented by

Private Lending & Conventional Mortgage Advice

Insurance

Tax, SDIRAs & Cost Segregation presented by

Foreclosures

1031 Exchanges presented by

Goals, Business Plans & Entities

Legal & Legislation

Real Estate Classifieds

Classifieds

Real Estate Events & Meetups

Reviews & Feedback

Ask About A Real Estate Company

Real Estate Deal Analysis & Advice

Guru, Book, & Course Reviews

Syndications & Passive Real Estate Investing

Updated over 9 years ago on 01/31/2016. Most recent reply

33
Posts: 3
Votes

Matt MaluchnikPoster

Investor
Perrysburg, OH

General Landlording & Rental Properties

Section 8 Why Not?

Matt MaluchnikPoster

Investor
Perrysburg, OH

Posted January 31, 2016 14:05

Why would someone not do section 8 on an investment property if the government is paying for the rent? Guaranteed money right or wrong? What's the downside?

0 Votes

1 Replies

Jump to Last Reply

Sort By:

Oldest

Loading replies...

Struggling to find reliable real estate advice?

Join over 3 million real estate investors to build connections, learn from others, and share your journey — all for free!

Your Profile Views

Curious to see who's interested in your profile? Unlock your views with Pro

Connect with others

7 day free trial. Cancel anytime.

PRO

Upgrade to Pro

Market Finder - key investor metrics for all US markets

Deal Finder - investor-focused filters and notifications for new properties

Calculators - Unlimited access to 9+ property analysis calculators

Find an Agent

Find & Match With an Investment Friendly Real Estate Agent

Enter your market to get started

Rent Estimator

Address or ZIP