Due to the economic uncertainty in the market, is it possible to BRRR single family homes and then zone them for section 8 to help with rent collection in a downtown? Any help on this would be appreciated!

Yes, though section 8 isn't a zoning thing. Any property that can be legally be used as a rental property that also passes the program's inspection criteria can be used as a section 8 rental. In fact in more and more jurisdictions across the country laws are being introduced and passed that ensure that landlords cannot discriminate against income source. In other words, in those areas, you have to accept vouchers provided the tenants pass all of your other regular screening criteria.

I love SEC 8, especially in a market like today where renters income can be unstable. It’s basically rent insurance for the landlord - for free. If you search BP for SEC 8 you will find hundreds of thousands of posts. The topic comes up ALOT. My poor fingers got tired of typing the same thing over and over, so I put my tips and tricks in a blog post. Here’s a link if you want to check it out.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

@Mason Faust I had always heard bad things about Section 8 but I have to admit, it is one of my best rentals- but I was lucky getting a good tenant. The rent is stable and as long as I pass the rigid annual inspections, which are a pain and can be very costly at times, the rent keeps coming in. I would make sure with your local HUD department that Section 8 is allowable/ feasible in your market and also check the rent amounts that they will allow.

yeah! We do this all the time and love it. Section 8 vouchers have been slightly more limited in our market lately but not enough to cause concern.

@Patti Robertson blog post is spot on and super helpful. Good starting point!

@Alyssa Dyer We are looking to put our property back on the market for rent this week (that we actually bought from your team :) last year) and are wondering if we should get into section 8 this tie around.  Do you know when choosing a rent amount can we go off of what I see on https://www.ok.gov/ohfa/docume...  or do they only give what the comps are in the area?  Any idea?

@Mason Faust

The first step is to market to section 8 tenants. Try gosection8 and check your local housing authority site.  You must have an approved voucher tenant want to rent your unit.  That is how the process starts.  You cannot have your unit approved without this.  You cannot contact them to get approved without a voucher tenant ready to go.  The process takes some time.  If you found a tenant today, it would most likely not start until November 1 or If got hung up December 1.  The inspection is not a big deal provided your property is being maintained.

Typical things are peeling paint, inoperable windows, GFCI in the kitchen and bath no matter when it was built, handrails, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors if applicable, etc.  

@Patti Robertson thanks for the laugh.  I see you have responded many times to this question.  Always new people coming on board.  I have responded to private lending questions numerous times.  If I was smart, I would save the response and adjust it to fit the question. 

Originally posted by @Laura Lamberth :

@Alyssa Dyer We are looking to put our property back on the market for rent this week (that we actually bought from your team :) last year) and are wondering if we should get into section 8 this tie around.  Do you know when choosing a rent amount can we go off of what I see on https://www.ok.gov/ohfa/docume...  or do they only give what the comps are in the area?  Any idea?

Sure, this is totally doable. I'll check out the address and info and send you my thoughts! The short answer is "yep" that form is right. But with Section 8 there's never really a short answer LOL. The longer answer is that the form just provides a baseline as a starting point. Section 8 will look at comparables and inspect the property and review the tenant voucher, which can all impact it! 

PS- it's so good to hear from you! Glad you jumped on and mentioned me.