Posted by Nate(DC) on November 13, 2003 at 21:02:33:
ALL tenants have the potential of being high maintenance! 
NT
Section 8 - Posted by Kevin Queenan
Posted by Kevin Queenan on November 05, 2003 at 19:18:57:
Ray:
I’m looking at purchasing a multi unit apartment building. Some of the units are designated Section 8 and in fact have Section 8 tenants. In your experience, what are the pros and cons of dealing with a Section 8 property and would you even consider owning one?
Thanks for your help.
Kevin Queenan
Re: Section 8 - Posted by Mike C.
Posted by Mike C. on November 12, 2003 at 11:36:43:
I managed a 92 unit section 8 property for 2 years. It is alot of work at first but if you get it right you can get much higher rents than market value.
First thisg to consider is the extra paperwork. you must maintain a list of prospective renters and you can only offer to rent to people according to that list. Person shows up to rent, you put them on a waiting list (assuming your building is full and it should ALWAYS be full with section 8). You can not offer to rent to anyone unless they are next on the list. Second renters qualify acording to their income. Some of your renters will only pay $30.00 per month to you directly, the gov. sends you the rest. Some renters might pay $300.00. You can NOT make your rental decision based on how much the renter will pay. Your building will get inspected every year and each vacant unti will need to get inspected befor it rents. The propective renter is sent to a government office to see if he qualifies. the the unit is inspected to make sure it is not a slum and the tenent is a fit for the apartment (no more than two people per bedroom etc.)
Heres the kicker. Section 8 rents are set according to county averages. Lets just say your building is in Los Angeles County, CA. A building in Beverly Hills is going to pay much higher marker rents than a building in Lancaster. If the area your building is in could get you much (and I do mean much) higher rents than the market rent then section 8 might be worth the extra work.
On the upside, your rents are mostly guarenteed, the gov pays each month and the renters are less likely to move if they are only paying a small portion the the total rent. They know what it would cost them to rent at a regular apartment complex. I would not recommend you get into section 8 unless you are a very experenced landlord. Just a few things to think about.
Re: Section 8 - Posted by Chris Sullivan
Posted by Chris Sullivan on November 11, 2003 at 20:10:16:
Good points all, but if you are screening properly you can avoid many of these problems…
Re: Section 8 - Posted by Adam
Posted by Adam on November 07, 2003 at 08:35:42:
Like everything in life there are always pros and cons, such is the case you present. Personally I don’t mind having a few section 8 properties. On the Con’s side you may run into tenants that don’t care for the property as well and you may face a few maintinance issues at the backend of things. Also, this may lead to a lack of regular tenants willing to live in the complex if things aren’t well up kept. On the positive side Section 8 provides you a guaranteed income from the government as the tenants rent is highly subsidized. Personally, on a few of my properties, worst case senario(tenant doesn’t pay one month) I am only $25 dollars out of pocket to cover the total rent. I am sure you are thinking $25 dollars month after month adds up and it does. However, many decent sized cities have many prospective Section 8 tenants looking for a better place to reside so you should not have a problem finding new tenants. I suggest that is alright to have a few as along as you provide safe and clean places to stay. You don’t want to become known as a Slum Lord. Good Luck.
Adam
Re: Section 8 - Posted by jeff
Posted by jeff on November 06, 2003 at 08:02:32:
Main factor regarding Sec8 - tenants have the potential of being high maintenance.
Re: Section 8 - Posted by waketer mitchell
Posted by waketer mitchell on February 07, 2006 at 14:24:08:
Remove the NOJUNKEMAILPLEASE from email address when responding.
Is there a website that I can go to to find out:
How much does section 8 pay per month in the county of Peoria, IL 61603,4,5…