Section 8 Rates in Prince Georges County Maryland

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Section 8 Rates in Prince Georges County Maryland

Manuel Rivera
Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 0 votes

Hi everyone! I just closed on my 4th investment property and the main reason I bought it was to rent it through section 8 in the area of Bowie Maryland. The rates on section 8 for the area are toooooo good to be true. I'm looking at the table rates of the Housing Choice Voucher Payment Standards in Prince Georges County, MD. Anyone renting through section 8 in Prince Georges County and are the rates "real" in their tables for that specific region?  If not I can still rent to other people for positive cash flow. I'm remodeling the kitchen, floors and lighting. I also have a question concerning smoke detectors... The unit has smoke detectors on each floor (3). Do I need to add smoke detectors inside the rooms? Thanks in advance. 

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  • Uchenna A.
    Real Estate Agent · Bowie, MD · Member since 2014 · 53 posts · 32 votes
    5y

    @Manuel Rivera

    Section 8 will go with comparable rents for similar units in the area. The numbers you see on their site although real, are not practical numbers. They never pay close to that because those include all utilities.

    As far as smoke alarms, city of Bowie requires that you have them in all bedrooms while PG does not. If your property in Bowie is within city limits, you will need to install in the rooms. The good news is that the 10 year battery ones are good enough for the rooms.

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  • Ray Slack
    Investor · White Haven PA · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 221 votes
    5y

    Yes.. The published rates are the Max including all utilities.   You can get a bit more than "fair Market" when going section 8.. The good news is that not many landlords in Bowie accept section 8 vouchers so it should not be hard to find tenants.   Every time I put one of my Bowie properties on the Market I would say 70% of the inquiries are looking for section 8..  What type of house or townhouse is it that you bought? I can pretty much tell you the rent you will be able to get for it.  Bowie is my market.

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  • Ray Slack
    Investor · White Haven PA · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 221 votes
    5y

    Also if you are going section 8 and the floors and ktichen are okay.. I would not renovate them..  Section 8 people are not going to be more money for something brand new like a "Market rent" tenant would.. Also, section 8 tenants have a repuatation for not treating rentals with the care that a homeowner would. (So, your new kitchen and floors may need to be replaced after a few section 8 tenants.)

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  • Manuel Rivera
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Hi Ray, I bought a townhouse style condo. Its exactly like a townhouse (3 floors) but I pay a condo fee. So its a condo. It has 3 BD and 2.5baths but Im making the den a 4th bedroom which measures (11'x24'). Im installing a door, closet and lights on that 4th BD. Let me know, thanks. 

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  • Ray Slack
    Investor · White Haven PA · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 221 votes
    5y

    What is the section of Bowie or the street name? 

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  • Manuel Rivera
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    The zip code is 20720 located at River Valley Way. 

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  • Ray Slack
    Investor · White Haven PA · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 221 votes
    5y

    These are your comps.  You are probably looking at $2000  for market rent.. You may be able to get higher for section 8 as there is a closed rental on Morning glory for $2350 and one on day lily for $2,500. Those are newer but similar enough that housing department may use it as a comp.. I would try for $2,495 if going section 8.. You will probably get a tenant without a problem at that price but housing department may bump down your rental price based on the comps.

    Keep us updated

    Ray


    1.0 mi    		MDPG576656RESLCLS4200 Day Lily DrBowiePrince Georges, MD43/1End of Row/Townhouse08/31/20Compass (COMPS7)$2,500 (39)--
    0.7 miMDPG572420RESLCLS4630 Morning Glory TrlBowiePrince Georges, MD32/1Interior Row/Townhouse08/11/20Wheeler Realty LLC (WHLR1)$2,350 (3)--
    0.1 miMDPG590306RESLACT4743 River Valley Way #64BowiePrince Georges, MD32/1Unit/Flat/Apartment12/01/20Silver River Real Estate (SLRR1)$2,100 (19)--
    0.1 miMDPG574884RESLCLS4747 River Valley Way #63BowiePrince Georges, MD32/1Interior Row/Townhouse08/15/20Choice Properties, Inc. (CHOI1)$2,000 (5)--
    0.1 miMDPG578126RESLCLS4849 River Valley Way #38BowiePrince Georges, MD32/1Interior Row/Townhouse08/26/20Attorneys Advantage Realty (ATTO1)$1,995 (16)--
    0.3 miMDPG573276RESLCLS4508 Running Deer Way #391ABowiePrince Georges, MD32/0Other07/10/20Silver River Real Estate (SLRR1)$1,775

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  • Manuel Rivera
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Thanks Ray, I appreciate your time and input. I will keep you updated once I have a tenant in there. 

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  • Michael C.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · College Park, MD · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    5y

    @Manuel Rivera The PG County Housing Authority has a monthly online briefing that you may find helpful.  They will recommend that you be diligent in your tenant screening which I will second.  The great thing about tenants in the program is that they tend to stay in the houses for many years.  I haven't participated in the program for  a few years, but if I had a choice between and A-1 market rate tenant and the average Sec 8 tenant I would probably stick with the market rate tenant since they entail less wear and tear on the property and less overall drama. Also, the PG County Housing Authority was difficult to deal with a few years ago possibly due to budget cuts because they were very good 20 years ago.  

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  • Eric Kennedy
    Investor · BOWIE MD · Member since 2019 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    Congrats on the new addition to the portfolio brother. You won't have a problem finding a tenant and getting those great rates. There is a stigma around renting to section 8 tenants, but in my opinion, and from experience it makes no sense to do it any other way - especially in this area (in terms of ROI) In dc you can get up to 5000+ via section 8 in certain areas.

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  • Manuel Rivera
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 15 posts · 0 votes
    5y

    Hi people, I have a tenant moving in tomorrow. I didn't go with section 8 because I found a person with excellent credit and excellent income. I rented it out for $2,700 utilities included. It has a new kitchen and flooring throughout the condo. 

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  • Ray Slack
    Investor · White Haven PA · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 221 votes
    5y

    Congrats..

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  • Dana Powell
    Member since 2018 · 76 posts · 17 votes
    4y

    @Ray Slack and @Manuel Rivera, I am interested in buying in the 20720 because of the high housing choice voucher payment standards.  I currently have 4 properties in DC rented to voucher recipients and in DC actual market comps are not used to determine rent payment for a particular unit.  Instead, approved rent is based on neighborhood and size of unit.  So I have been able to pinpoint exactly what section 8 rent would be before I purchased a unit.  Not so cut and dry with Maryland's section 8 program, I see.

    Can you give me an idea of what rent a 2 or 3 bedroom on Rockport Lane would be? Where would the housing authority look for comps---Zillow? MLS?

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