Sec 8 3/4/5 bedrooms

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  • Carl Millsap
    Investor · Midwest · Member since 2019 · 337 posts · 226 votes
    5d

    @Bill Vaughan it's been my experience that Section 8 tenants aren't any better or worse than market tenants. I have some tenants in 3 bedrooms or units in general who are far cleaner and take better care than those who don't receive assistance.

    Don't get me wrong I've had my fair share of Sec. 8 tenants who've trashed my units as well, but again those who don't receive assistance have left me a few raw deals when they moved as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUKq-fPufWY go to the 7:55 mark. This was a market rate tenant, no assistance.

    Generally anyone in my 3 bedrooms stay longer than my 1 or 2 bedrooms. If it's a house even better because they feel like it's their home.

    Ensure you collect enough deposit to offset some of the turn process, and have a backend system where the balance follows them i.e. collections / credit report. You won't get all of it back but I've had some who paid the collections company because the hit on their credit report prevented them from getting what they want at some point.

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  • Divin KanyamaBusiness Member
    Accountant · Seattle, WA · Member since 2025 · 301 posts · 95 votes
    5d

    @Bill Vaughan Turnover and make-ready costs usually depend more on the property, household, lease enforcement, and management than on whether the tenant uses a Section 8 voucher. Larger homes can have higher repair and cleaning costs simply because there is more space and typically more occupants, but it is not fair or reliable to assume families will trash the property.

    I would screen applicants consistently within fair-housing rules, document the condition thoroughly at move-in, conduct permitted inspections, respond quickly to maintenance issues, and keep a larger turnover reserve for a high-bedroom-count property. The most useful comparison is actual annual turnover and repair cost per unit—not isolated worst-case stories.

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  • Drew SygitBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
    3d

    Logically, there are less 4-bed homes than 3-bed, less 5-bed than 4-bed and so on.

    So, the less options for tenants to move, the longer they'll usually stay.

    In our experience, S8 tenants cause more damage than cash-paying tenants.

    • The biggest reason for this is that for any given property, the S8 tenants typically applying will have significantly lower credit profiles than the cash-paying tenants.

    • Yes, you get the rent paid on time, but you can lose all profits to damages.

    FYI - there's not a high demand in metro Detroit (our local) for 5-bed homes. We usually advertise it as a 4-bed with an office that can also be used as a 5th bedroom.

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  • Patrick O'SullivanBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2024 · 531 posts · 202 votes
    3d

    Finding a landlord who takes a voucher for a 4-5 bedroom is hard, so once they're in, they usually tend to stay longer than market-rate tenants. Make-ready cost depends more on your finishes than the tenant. LVP instead of carpet, washable paint, and standard fixtures keep turns predictable. The annual housing authority inspection also gets you inside every year, so small problems get caught early. Screen everyone the same way on rental history and landlord references. That tells you more than whether they have a voucher.

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