Rental Property Investor · Virginia Beach, VA · Member since 2017 · 61 posts · 25 votes
I have a rental home in zip code 23513 and wanted to know if it's worth switching the home to section eight? I understand that section eight makes those that qualify pay for a small portion of the rent and section eight covers the rest. My concern is will they damage the home, who pays for the repairs (homeowner, section eight, or the tenant), how will that affect the neighbors, will section eight tenant be responsible for all utilities as well? If anyone has any stories to share as well as any other information that would be great!
I have a rental home in zip code 23513 and wanted to know if it's worth switching the home to section eight? I understand that section eight makes those that qualify pay for a small portion of the rent and section eight covers the rest. My concern is will they damage the home, who pays for the repairs (homeowner, section eight, or the tenant), how will that affect the neighbors, will section eight tenant be responsible for all utilities as well? If anyone has any stories to share as well as any other information that would be great!
You will always get two diametrically opposing views on section 8. Its one of the most polarizing real estate conversations. I am very much for it. The county/city pays you on time.. Always..The first month might be delayed due to administrative reasons, but from then onwards its like clockwork.
I have 1 Section 8 tenant right now, whom I have vetted like anyone else. They are good people. They pay their own utilities. No issues. They stay long term unlike 1 or 2 yrs for some other tenants. Eventually, I plan on making all my properties, at least in the state of Virginia, Section 8 properties.
Also, the county/city does yearly inspections. The tenants are at the mercy of the the city/county approving them for the next year. If they are found in violation of rules like authorized pets, authorized guests, drugs, damage to the property, they could lose their vouchers. Once they lose the vouchers, its not easy to get reinstated. There is always a huge waiting period. Huge demand for housing and not enough supply.
"I would never chose to rent to any of them, not only as a business decision but also as a moral decision. They should be in government housing."
"They should be in government housing"? The closest thing to government housing in the USA is Section 8, and even if there was full blown government housing, it'd still be tax payer funded. So why is there a moral qualm over section 8, but "government housing" is ok?
Anyway, Once I get my first rentals going I'll be looking at Section 8 in St. Louis. Anyone have experience in south St. Louis city with our housing authority? Feel free to PM me.
I can't imagine why anybody would object to the Housing Choice Voucher program!
For conservatives, it privatizes a vital government function in a way that even small business people can compete;
For liberals, it allows you to personally implement and ensure the survival of a critical social program;
The charitable, get to provide affordable housing;
The opportunists, get a slice of government pie!
Everybody wins!
Note to Donald: I don't know that area but I recommend staying out of the densely populated urban areas until you have more experience. See my post on selecting a market. A quick look tells me in South St. Louis look at suburbs like High Ridge and Arnold. You might get something for well under $100,000 that rents out in the $900+ range. I don't know the area but speculate that taxes are a little high in bedroom communities. You're probably looking at $550/mo or so PITI for something reasonable. Then you can find an HCV (section 8) family if you still want. Again, I don't know for sure, this experience talking. Anyway, that will be a much lower risk than buying a $30,000 house in the city, rehabbing it for rental and holding it. Those areas come cheap but with special problems, you need to be prepared to overcome. The one big exception: if you grew up in those neighborhoods, you already have that understanding.
@Mark Elkins thanks for the advice. I grew up here and know the area's pretty well. I'm looking more at the 50-150k housing. Got 1 place I'm looking at today that is 130k rents are~2300/mo, HVC rent would be closer to 3k based on the hud website info. it's a triplex.
@Mark Elkins thanks for the advice. I grew up here and know the area's pretty well. I'm looking more at the 50-150k housing. Got 1 place I'm looking at today that is 130k rents are~2300/mo, HVC rent would be closer to 3k based on the hud website info. it's a triplex.
Who says Section 8 is bad? HUD inspects the property and make you keep it repaired, which is more than some property managers will do. The tenant is no more likely to damage your property than any other tenant.
This is all great information! I am looking at a couple of properties that have HCV tenants already in place. Thoughts on this? I assume the tenant has been screened by the previous owner, but would want to rescreen once taking ownership or would this be unnecessary? Should I come across a property that is vacant and I would like to get into the HCV program how will I know what the rent will be as it is set by the governing body? I believe it is based on current market levels, but how would I go about performing future cash flows during my due diligence period if I can't set the rent myself?
@Tookie Nemchak Section 8 is a nationwide federal program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development ((HUD)as in HUD1). It's available in every corner of America. If the is no independent agency handling it, check first with the human services departments in larger cities and then with the township governments. BTW- townships also handle general assistance in most locations!
Hope this helps! Holler if you hear me.
Best regards,
Mark
That helps a lot, thanks! This gives me a place to start.
here are pictures from my section 8 tenant's apartment that moved out 1/1/18 and has been in the unit since 8/1/11.. it was a family of 6 in a 5 bedroom 4 bathroom apartment.
@Mathew Zorn, just like @Chinmay J. said, everything I heard about it was extreme to the pro or con. To get my own view, I have recently qualified one of my rentals with our local housing authority for Section 8. Check out the video link in my bio if you're interested in my experience.
I love SEC 8 too and have over 100 leases in the program right now. I find that there are pigs in every sector. I own two houses on the same street and one has a SEC 8 tenant and the other has a military couple - so I thought. The military couple has not paid rent and has not answered the phone, so I drive by to discover they have abandoned the property and left it filthy. My HVAC contractor responded to a service call last month and found they had pigs - literally little pigs - living in my kitchen! They did not depoy or change duty stations. The just decided they didn’t like the neighborhood and someone got approved to move into base housing even though they are in a lease. Clearly they did not consult with an attorney. We take them to court on the 10th of this month, and every month thereafter until we get the place cleaned up and find a new tenant. First we have to get the smell out of the house - and the pile of pig poop that is sitting over the porch railing where they were obviously dumping it.
This is just a sampling of what I found today after a MILITARY tenant moved out. It can happen in any populations. Just saying.
I have a rental home in zip code 23513 and wanted to know if it's worth switching the home to section eight? I understand that section eight makes those that qualify pay for a small portion of the rent and section eight covers the rest. My concern is will they damage the home, who pays for the repairs (homeowner, section eight, or the tenant), how will that affect the neighbors, will section eight tenant be responsible for all utilities as well? If anyone has any stories to share as well as any other information that would be great!
For those who say its bad simply do not have any experience with it ( OR did not screen properly) . I have done 1ks of move in and outs with sec 8 and other govt programs,. More secure, and more money, just screen properly