Renting to Section 8 Applicants

[Simond Wong]

Hi BP Fam! I am just starting on this journey in real estate and I am loving it so far. I am based in Philadelphia. I am interested in hearing about your experiences with Section 8 Tenants, specifically:

1. Why did you choose to work with Section 8 Tenants?

2. What are the pros of working with section 8?

3. What are the cons of working with Section 8?

4. How do you vet and interview your Section 8 tenants? What are specific questions you ask and specific attributes you seek in finding the right fit between tenant and landlord?

5. Since we are 2020, what are some things you've wished you'd known prior to getting into Section 8, so that it would have made your experience more positive (hindsight 2020)

Please would appreciate your feedback, and hope to hear from you, thanks!

[Jacob Sampson]

As far as vetting goes it is all the same.  There is no difference when vetting someone who receives income from the government or people who receives income from a job.

I guess there is the obvious pro, that all or a portion of the rent will come from a government agency.  Another is that if a tenant is evicted they are off of the section 8 roles for 5 years so there is more incentive for them to not get evicted.  One con is that the inspector may require you to correct issues you wouldn't normally correct, such as making sure you have GFCI plugs any place that there is a water source.  But that just seems reasonable anyway.

I'm not really sure why people think that renting to someone receiving housing assistance is unique or different.  You want good people with a dependable means of paying for rent and taking care of your property.