All Forum Posts by: Monique Burns

When I was still green and didn't know about prescreening, I had a woman, Ferlita, come to see my house.  She seemed like she could have been drunk from the night before.  I'm good at getting people to talk...and did she ever TALK.  She told me all about how much fun she had in a scheme at the local hospital of taking people's identities when they were in the hospital.  This Ferlita would dress up like the person whose identity she had stolen and buy all kinds of things.  "And, by the way, that closet will NOT be able to hold all MY shoes."  The kicker was she was on Section 8.  That's how I found out that once someone is on Section 8, it's not as though Section 8 is aware of later felonies.  In this woman's case she had been charged but not sentenced yet.  She kept calling me saying that we had really connected so she wasn't sure why I hadn't rented to her yet.  I didn't want her to do something to my property if she got mad at me so I played dumb and friendly until she stopped trying.  I've been making a 20-part Youtube playlist called Secrets of Section 8 Revealed and I wrote a blog about running background checks on people with Section 8 and I actually found a news article about a Ferlita felon who was probably my applicant.  Ferlita the Felon and Section 8 Screening 

I'm a landlord and property manager who specializes in Section 8.  If I were to hire a property management company, I would know the questions to ask them to learn their level of expertise.  My properties are in Detroit but Section 8 has similarities throughout the USA.  

I do feel one's success has more to do with how well the screening process has been done.  Background Check on a Section 8 Applicant blog. I do NOT feel just gathering one's financials and running a background check is nearly enough. Ask them what else do they do. I have uncovered many evictions doing my own court checks. Get to know Chapter 5 of HUD's book that I go into in this blog too. It will help you with interview questions for a potential property manager. How to Get Section 8 -- HUD's ...

I'm a fan of renting to Section 8 tenants.  But you REALLY have to know how to work with the local PHAs or as other people said, be local and do it yourself.  It does require extra attention from a property management company who likely makes more money in other areas with white collar tenants who aren't as demanding.  Good luck!

Hi,  

I'm in the process of making a 20-episode playlist on Section 8.  I JUST made the one of how to get qualified.  You don't actually qualify though.  A tenant comes to you with a move packet to fill out, then Section 8 comes to do the inspection.  If you pass the inspection, you get the tenant.  There's a lot to being a successful landlord or property manager when it comes to Section 8, thus my whole big playlist.  My attached blogs have even more details too.  How To Qualify to Have a Section 8 Tenant

Hi,  

You don't know the whole story and may never know it.  But in cases like this when everything else is so good and especially if it was dismissed, I definitely ask them to tell me the story.  The way in which they handle the question is part of my screening process.  One time I had a girlfriend blubber on about her boyfriend never having done "it" but he still went to jail.  The attorney even had proof that he didn't do it.  I asked her to provide me that proof then.  What did they give to the attorney?  She never gave me any proof of anything.  She also didn't seem very convincing in the way she answered.  They had really good income though and I was hoping there was some story.  My properties are in a low-income area so jail time isn't unheard of.  

The charges you said could have come from a scorned woman/man.  I used to be a court reporter for an attorney who supported fathers whose wives accused them of all kinds of false horrors to get more money or child time.  

I would also put stock in the current landlord's reference.  Be sure you make sure he's the real landlord.  Hopefully it's not an apartment building.  They just email a ledger.  But even that will show the applicant's rental history.  I ask anyway to the people who answer the phone who aren't "allowed" to say anything.  I just tell them my concern and see if I can get them to spill it.  

Partway through your landlord questions, you can ask how he/she got interested in investing. "Did you go on Bigger Pockets? Did you use the forums? Do you have any advice for me? I'm a newbie at this. What's your best screening tip?" If he's a fake, he will struggle with those questions. I invite them to REIA meetings too.

We're supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.  Hopefully this person is truly not guilty.  Good luck!!!

I made a video on a part of my screening process Tenant Screening

I can just tell you what our investors have made in returns in Detroit. We sell them a newly renovated and newly rented property for around $50k. In the last five years we've tracked their ROI and it has come in at 9-15%. That is with all things considered; turnover of tenant, maintenance, taxes, insurance, paying our 10% property management fees. I can't speak as a financial adviser though!

Sounds like an AWFUL experience.  I'm a property manager in Detroit.  I was always worried someone would become a hoarder because it's actually a protected class because it's a mental health disability.  If it came to that, I would have to just give lease violations for the trash.  The courts always favor the tenants too so if they were there under a year, it could be a real issue because it is so much harder to evict if they were paying the rent.  It seems she could have raised the rent significantly at the year end and then evicted the tenants based on nonpayment of rent.  That's a faster eviction. There could have been things missed in the prescreening.  I just made a Youtube video about paying people a home visit before renting to them in my Secrets of Section 8 Revealed playlist.  That would have shown they were hoarders.  

 I'm very sorry you went through that experience.  Out of State investors have risks.  The relationship between a property manager and investor needs to be built on trust. We try to get our investors to come to Detroit and spend a few hours with us.  It's been tough with the pandemic!  People aren't game for a trip right now.  The trust needs to be both ways too.  We don't work with every investor who has come here for a tour.  When I don't like them, I use sign language in the car to my husband to find a really bad area and let's push them out of the car and take off.  I'M KIDDING!  But it has been tempting.  I do hope things go well for you going forward!  

I invest in properties in Detroit. My portfolio has performed well, even during the pandemic because most of my tenants have Section 8 housing vouchers (government assistance that pays a good portion of their rent right to me). My husband and I also buy houses in Detroit and renovate them and place tenants for investors who do not want to be involved in that higher risk part of investing. We then sell the renovated and rented houses to investors all over the world. There are risks to knowing which neighborhood will be the most rentable. There are a lot of risks when it comes to renovation, if you've ever watched HGTV! Some people enjoy the thrill though. But our investors like to buy a property they know is freshly renovated and already rented. They have very little involvement. We tracked their ROI from the purchase of the renovated property for five years with us managing it and they came in at 9-15%. Most of our houses are around $50k for a 3 bedroom house. There is always demand for a quality rental in Detroit. I get to choose the best of the many applicants. There is a whole science to that that I've been making a Youtube playlist Secrets of Section 8 Revealed. I do recommend touring the city in which you choose to invest. Of course I'm partial to Detroit. You need to know with whom you are working too. We hear many horror stories of investors who have already bought properties filled with promises but it just wasn't true. It's sad. If your team is experienced and you've seen their properties with your own eyes, then you're doing better. I've been able to video my own properties for those who can't travel during the pandemic. It's not the same as being here, meeting us in person, and having my husband walk you through a couple of our houses, but the videos are pretty thorough. Good luck!

I own and property manage houses in Detroit.  We buy the houses ourselves in the neighborhoods we like, renovate them ourselves so we get the fewest possible repair calls from tenants, get the houses in compliance with Detroit, place the tenants we screen since we'll be dealing with them, and then we flip them.  After we flip them, we continue the property management.  Our investors are minimally involved and they keep buying more houses.  So it DOES work in Detroit.  It's not easy.  It's no bed of roses.  But it makes money.  

We do see the prices going up. We've had to raise our turnkey prices accordingly but our investors are still happy with their ROI and they keep buying more houses.

If you do invest in Detroit I recommend coming here and meeting your property manager.  Have them drive you to different properties and see inside a property they are renovating or have for rent.  Ask about the status of the house getting in compliance with Detroit.  It's a big job getting in compliance and Detroit is after the landlords who are not doing it.  Ask for all the worst case scenarios the PM knows could happen.  Section 8 or no Section 8?  Why?  Ask them how their maintenance is handled.  Full time person?  Contracted?  How do they charge the owner?

I've been investing personally since 2008 and have some of the same tenants.  Great cash flow if you're here and you can do it yourself.  But if you can't be here, do your homework!  You'll be happy you did.

I invest in Detroit and it's going well!  My husband and I have 10 houses that rent for $800-$875/mo.  Mostly Section 8.  Some of our tenants have been there since 2008.  We live just outside of Detroit.  

Others have asked us our formula and can we do it for them.  So we started Great Day Property Management.  But we're not your typical property management company.  We buy the houses ourselves in the neighborhoods my Detroit native husband chooses.  We renovate them ourselves so they have as few repairs necessary as possible.  We place the tenants ourselves with a really tough screening process so we have the least possible problems with them.  THEN we sell them turnkey.  

Our investors do well.  They keep buying more houses.  We have a waiting list of other investors who want to buy our turnkey houses.  I screen them too!  I tell them all the things that can go wrong and see how they react.  Usually, it's, "Put me on your waiting list."  

Plan on spending around $50k and getting an actual ROI of around 9-15% with repairs and turnover. Taxes are around $1,200. Insurance is around $800. If anyone sells you different numbers, I wouldn't buy it.

We also require our investors to come here and meet us.  We show them around Detroit and show them our houses in the renovation process.  We have to trust each other to work together. 

I'm happy to hear all the naysayers out here.  Less competition for me!