How does tenant Based Section 8 work for apartment owners?

Question

I'm thinking of purchasing a low income apartment community. I know it has a number of tenants on section 8 also. I also know the process to obtain and loss the voucher. What I don't know is how the pay out from government works. Is it percentage based? Is it a cap on how much they give? I mean wouldn't a landlord want section 8 tenant every unit, knowing he will get a check on the 1st from the government. Does anyone about property based section 8?

Brittany R. · Answer

I have two Section 8 tenants, it seems like it is percentage based...on what their income is in comparison to the rent. I've seen it fluctuate. No worries though, I always get an email at least two weeks prior if Section 8 decides to change the amount of rent that they will pay out, so I'll know ahead of time what they're paying and what my tenant will pay.

Personally, I like the program and I plan on getting my new rental property surveyed in order to be able to accept Section 8 tenants. My Section paycheck comes right on time every month.

From what I can tell that some ppl don't like the program bc they might have had a bad tenant.

In my opinion pretty much anyone can turn out to be a bad tenant.

I still screen my Section 8 tenants....the only difference is that I might accept a lower credit score and lower salary.

Oh and something else that I do, I request to visit them in their current apartment or home, so I can see how clean they are. Shout out to BP for that one! By doing this I can see how my house might look in a few months if I decided to rent to them.

Account Closed · Answer

There's a BP member who lives in Oakland, CA and rents to Section 8 tenants and is happy with them.  I can't remember his name, but you might just search for Section 8 and Oakland to find him.  There are others here, though, that are very knowledgeable.  Just try searching "Section 8".

Alfred Harris · Answer

@Brittany R. That's an awesome idea about visiting them. Thank you for the info