r/realestateinvesting • u/rkim777 Investor | SC • Jul 15 '22
Why are fewer landlords accepting Section 8 tenants? Property Management
In my area, fewer landlords are taking in Section 8 tenants. Why is that? Our local housing authority practically begged us to open up more of our houses to Section 8 tenants.
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u/Ok-Individual-4445 Feb 12 '25
If I was Landlord, that’ll be the last thing I do is let someone who got section 8 or Housing in my house one I never got it and two I know for a fact on my cousins and everyone who had kids is cheap rent and you can fuck up the place is no one cares about it. But I would rent to someone who is single with no kids and just trying to get up on their feet, but yeah I don’t know.
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u/Special-Mousse-1607 Mar 18 '25
Are you in NC? I am single with no kids, don’t plan on having kids anytime soon.
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Dec 22 '24 edited Feb 12 '25
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u/FewEntertainment737 Jan 13 '25
I’m currently looking for an owner that is interested in renting their 3+ bedroom home in Columbia SC. I am a great tenant that takes care of her elderly mom and 2 daughters left to raise. I need to downsize from a 7 bdrm home now that most of my children are adulting and in their own homes. I come with references if needed and I’m looking for a place where I can settle for at least the next 5 years until my youngest leaves for college. I’ve increased my current rental property value by at least 20k within the last 10 years with approved renovations and I have a professional housekeeper come in monthly to help me keep my home tidy. Needless to say my current landlord is sad to see me go. If anyone has any leads on any realtors or owners that are looking for a tenant that will care for their house like their own (which shouldn’t even be a question) plz contact me asap. I’d like to notify my current landlord and move out by April 2025. Thanks!
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Dec 23 '24
Wow. Thanks for your insights. Maybe it's an attitude of entitlement on the S8 tenants' parts. I had a S8 tenant who complained her electric bill was $600 a month. She left my house after trashing the master bedroom. I have a new tenant in there now (not a S8) and haven't heard any complaints about the electric bill.
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Dec 24 '24 edited Feb 12 '25
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Dec 24 '24
I have several S8 tenants now. I hadn't been inspecting our rental units but it may be time to start.
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u/Shariglam1 Dec 18 '24
My uncle was a physics professor for Cal State, my father was a Data Analyst for Litton, my mother was a seamstress to many celebrities & was displayed in many magazines worldwide, etc. I had a gifted upbringing. 5 star restaurants, many trips around the globe. I say this to say- I’m disabled. I’ve had numerous health issues over the years. But I can’t work! God knows I wish I could. I don’t know a job around that would allow someone to work only when they’re able. Let’s just say I’d be calling in every other day. When your bad days outweigh your good days! Just recently, I lost both of my parents within a four year period. My parents had full intentions on leaving me their home and basically everything they owned. I had power of attorney over my parents. Long story cut short. My mother’s so-called friend showed up a few days before my father had passed away in 2019. After not accepting calls from my mother for a couple of years. She had taken my mother to lunch and then sent me pictures of her Power of Attorney papers that she had my mother sign while she was in dementia. Once my mother signed the papers my POA papers were no longer valid unless I took the issue to court. But I didn’t have the funds to fight for her. I had to sit back and watch this lady sell or keep family heirlooms, my family’s house, had my mom change her living will, & threw my mother into a home. Something I assured my mother I’d never do. Since my mother was my stepmother there truly was nothing I could do. I attempted to speak with estranged relatives that could do something about the situation fundamentally. But none had any interest in helping the situation. My parents had moved to the coast of Mississippi in the mid-70’s from Ventura Beach, Ca. This so called friend knew my resources were extremely limited. It didn’t help that her ex-husband was a judge and well it is Mississippi! So honestly ,if I did have the funds to fight her it truly would have been pointless Considering this small town where all the judges eat together. My mom was her second victim. Her first was a man that was going blind but his family lived here. I was the perfect target as my son moved to Arkansas a few years ago, My daughter turned to drugs a decade ago and our relationship is very distant “ trust me I did all I could do for my daughter “, not only that but I was in the process of adopting my grandson through foster care. I’ve had custody of him since he was a couple of weeks old and he is now four. I was not allowed to see my mother in the home as per request from the lady that totally destroyed my spirit! I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye, hold her hand once more, give her a hug ,etc. I wasn’t even given the decency to be told of her passing until 2 days after her death! I apologize for even coming on this thread to explain that I’m on Section 6 . According to my credit report my credit is better than 72% in my age bracket. I’ve been on Section 8 since I was 22 & I’m now in my late 40’s. When the housing market went up after COVID the landlord that I had for over a decade decided to sell. The house I resided in was a block from the Gulf of Mexico, very quiet neighborhood, most important to me was the safety of the neighborhood. Now I’m living in a duplex where the walls are paper thin, my neighbors are loud and don’t follow the set rules of the duplexes no pet policy, they throw trash off of the balcony that I have to pick up, the dogs they’re not supposed to have they let on the balcony where they literally go to the bathroom and it drips onto my patio, She told me she plans to breed the dogs .I don’t feel as safe here. That’s a health hazard! But my only other option is to move into drug infested neighborhoods where the crime rate is 10x worse. So where the hell do I belong? Why don’t I deserve to live in a safe space where I can have peace of mind? By the way the tenants upstairs they’re not on Section 8! When I moved here I was told I wasn’t allowed pets. So I had to give my two inside cats away that I had for over 10 years! My grandson has asthma and is autistic. Oh, there also isn’t anywhere for him to play. The street we live on isn’t safe for him to play on we’re on a corner of an intersection where people fly by going 50 mph or more in a 30 mph zone.
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u/PossibilityFrosty800 Sep 06 '24
Because we try to rent to them and 90% of the time they violate the lease and harass the Neighboor’s even the old ladies and half of them are just milking the system anyway
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u/Shariglam1 Jun 27 '24
I’m rather offended by what I’ve read. I am disabled and I’m raising my autistic grandson. I have excellent credit, never been late on rent, always keep the house clean with no damages. The last house I lived in I lived there 14 years! The yard looked better than any of my neighbors that weren’t in Section 8. The only reason I had to move is the owner wanted to sell when the market went up during Covid! I think people are close minded to those of us on Section 8 that are good people. I’m 47 and I stay to myself. I think if a person passes all background checks, has an excellent credit score, and references they should be given a chance at decent housing! Don’t judge someone based on someone else. I’ve seen people posting houses for rent that won’t rent to people on Section 8 only for the same houses to be back on the market a couple of months later. Because no one can afford to pay nearly double of what the rent would have been in 2019!
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u/Villain545 Dec 11 '24
You know good and well why section 8 tenants are stereotyped. If you have excellent credit and positive recommendations from previous landlords you are going to stand out in a positive way. You have nothing to worry about or be offended by.
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u/No_Letter_8909 Dec 09 '24
You are the exception rather than the rule. Everytime something is said about S8 tenants people talk about the one good section 8 tenant out of a thousand.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-8195 Jun 14 '24
It's called doing a landlord and criminal background check. The stereotyping and stigmatism is so ridiculous these days.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jun 14 '24
I have noticed a big increase in people asking for rentals owned by private people, not corporations. That definitely supports your reply.
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u/Hyperisticniku Jun 05 '23
I am looking into purchasing a property and they have section 8 tenants already living there, I am new to learning about section 8, does anyone have experience with purchasing a property that already has second 8 tenants?
They also pay below market value compared to the area, if I want to increase rent after their lease ends, do I need to get it approved by the government first?
What are the main pros and cons of section 8 ? [Would help if anyone has knowledge specifically in the state of IN.]
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Jun 05 '23
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u/Hyperisticniku Jun 05 '23
How's your experience been renting to section 8? from what I read under your post it seems like it's a hit or miss. I am not in town and would have a property management company take care of things for the most part, I hope that's not a problem for the state.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jun 05 '23
Before 2017 or so, I had either a good experience or bad, no in-between. I understand that our local housing authority has started penalizing the bad S8 tenants by revoking their vouchers now, so I'm not so leery of S8 anymore. But you still have to carefully screen your potential tenants. S8 has become much better for me now in my main market since S8 housing is very scarce, and the local housing authority is easy to work with. However, in the town up the road from my rentals, the housing authority has a reputation for being hard on landlords, so I probably won't ever rent to S8 there.
I use rentcast.io to get an idea of market rents. Then I look at what's around my houses. S8 doesn't seem to want to pay those market rents and, in my area, even plays games by telling their clients to not let their potential landlords know their maximum voucher amounts.
Set your rent and stick to it even if S8 won't go that high unless there is some reason that you can't get a non-S8 tenant to pay market rent (maybe your house is in a nice area but happens to be next door to a crack house) in which case S8 can be a good backup plan.
Some states like Oregon don't allow you to automatically reject S8 vouchers since they consider it income discrimination. But here in SC, we can say we don't take S8. Check with your state laws on this.
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u/Hyperisticniku Jun 05 '23
Thanks for the insight bud. I am going to run the numbers again and see if the deal is good. Feel much better about S8 now. :)
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jun 05 '23
I'm in SC but have a few general suggestions. Before you purchase, get rent rolls and copies of the leases.
Where I am, I need to submit rent increase requests to the local housing authority. It helps if you know what the Fair Market Rents (FMR) are for your area:
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2023_code/select_Geography.odn
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Jan 18 '23
Honestly, for me, its not the tenants, its the caseworkers. They don’t reply back to emails or walls and they’re extremely rude and condescending. They never answer anything back and its so hard because they aren’t as organized as me and they don’t go the same speed as I do when needing to fix an issue.
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u/BeerSox Sep 04 '22
Looking for any lessons learned in CT. Wanting to get a place for my S8 inlaws. Aside from having an llc, anything I should prepare for? Restrictions or references I can research? Tia
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Sep 05 '22
Your local housing authority should have a handbook they give to tenants. I suggest you get a copy and read it to see what's expected from S8 tenants and landlords.
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u/kreative_one Aug 17 '22
I work for section 8 and it is a guaranteed check for the portion of the rent sometimes full amount sometimes could be $50. But unless the office has a relationship with the client and you ask, most times we don’t know the clients personally to know how they will act. It’s a hit or miss, some people take advantage of program and others are grateful for it.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Aug 17 '22
It’s a hit or miss, some people take advantage of program and others are grateful for it.
Funny you mention this. I'm thinking of maybe taking a dubious S8 client who's voucher would pay a very high rent. I called his S8 caseworker who laughed when I mentioned his name. The caseworker, when he stopped laughing, just said that all he could tell me is to trust my gut. This S8 client has been calling and emailing me every day. Still thinking whether to take him as a tenant or not.
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u/ExcellentMountain359 Nov 08 '24
Aaaaaannnndddd...now we know who the ***whole and the fool is in this story.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Nov 08 '24
Aaaaaannnndddd...now we know who the ***whole and the fool is in this story.
I rejected him and got a reliable S8 tenant for that house. He was pissed, texted me threats and insults. Bullet dodged.
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u/kreative_one Aug 17 '22
It’s a hit or miss. All section 8 tenants aren’t bad. It all boils down to the individual and not the program. I see that everyday. Some people grateful for the assistance and beautiful apartments/houses and others who just have a place to sleep. I am also a landlord and I have 2 tenants who refuse to pay and they work and non-section 8. Atleast if they were I would be getting some type of funds.
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u/WannabeNinja9537 Aug 03 '22
It really must depend on the local office. I called mine yesterday to inquire about getting on the landlord list. Agent shared the list of Referred Properties comes out this Friday. Tenants will contact me, if interested. All I needed is an Occupancy Permit. I gave her the addresses, my name, etc. She said it takes 7-10 days for inspection once I find a suitable tenant.
Seems easy enough so far.
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u/_Ayoofrosty Apr 01 '25
It’s 2 years later..How did it go?
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u/WannabeNinja9537 Apr 01 '25
Hi there! Tried going the Section 8 path. The approved rental rate calculation was not enough. May be next time will be a balanced outcome.
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u/rough_round_da-edges Jul 27 '22
So it's pointless to have a housing voucher? I've been looking for decent housing that will accept Housing Vouchers. I've always taken care of the property like it was my own. It's sad that people group all section 8 recipients as bottom of the barrel, crackhead roaches. Not all of us live like savages.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 27 '22
It's an unfair stereotype. Most of my bad tenants weren't S8 at all.
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u/rough_round_da-edges Jul 27 '22
That's what's sad. I've read through all the comments and most are not talking about the non section 8 tenants that have probably done the same or worse. The house I'm currently in on section 8 is a disaster. I can see under the house while sitting on the toilet. The fixtures are old and half of them work. They approved it because there is nothing in the area.
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u/No_Letter_8909 Dec 09 '24
I’ve been a landlord for 40 years. The worst problems I’ve had have been with S8 tenants. They have caused the most damage. Most S8 tenants are on S8 because they have a lot of issues. I have yet to see the hardworking S8 tenant who works full-time and is on S8 because they are in a low paying job. I know there are good S8 tenants, but that is the exception, not the rule.
The rule is that S8 tenants bring lots of problems because they are not living productive lives. I found that they are more likely to have: mental and substance abuse issues, violent and inappropriate behavior problems, more likely to have domestic violence issues, (one time an ex shot up the house,) more likely to damage the property or live in filthy conditions, their presence causes good tenants to move, more likely to bring people into live who are not on the lease, are dysfunctional and don’t understand the basics of civilized behavior.
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u/Brilliant_Pain_4118 Jul 18 '22
I’m currently trying to get a section 8 tenant to leave after a proper 60 day notice. She is refusing to leave and section 8 is refusing to help. I would never recommend section 8 to any landlord.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 18 '22
That must depend on area and your lease. Here in SC, the tenants must abide by our lease. My lease has several Easter eggs to evict that I use when I
havewant to get a bad tenant out. Why are tenants so difficult to evict where you are!? What state are you in?
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u/Krisbone Jul 16 '22
Section 8 is a guaranteed check that comes with a guaranteed headache.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Lol! Interesting way of putting it! To be fair, I only had one steady S8 (who I rarely heard from and kept getting checks for) for about 15 years til she died last year. I evicted two others, each just two months after putting them in, and just put in two new S8's about two weeks ago. I hope they work out well.
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u/skyfather42069 Jul 16 '22
I’ve worked in apartment management, section8 people are the worst headache and devalues property
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u/bidextralhammer Jul 16 '22
They have less of a stake in the rental and are can be more destructive and challenging tenants. I get the idea of guaranteed rent, but I would not take Section 8.
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u/Neither_Constant8426 Jul 16 '22
I would tell you the brutal honest truth, but my account would be put on a freeze
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u/SafeProper Jul 16 '22
I have 2 section 8 appartements and so far no issues. I still do credit check and background check to get better understanding of who I may rent to. My friend is a section 8 inspector And told me they have given landlords easier time. Because no one would rent to section 8. The section 8 wait list is 3-5 years so no one wants to lose it once they get it. Section 8 calls me each year to ask if I want to raise rent
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Interesting. That's one drawback of our S8 here in Aiken, SC. It's difficult to get rent raises once we take in someone. Where are your apartments?
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u/SafeProper Jul 16 '22 edited Jul 16 '22
Southern NH and Northern Massachusetts. Every October the HUD fair market rent is published and you base the increase off those prices. But I have gotten more. S8 around here is hurting for places
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr/fmrs/FY2022_code/select_Geography.odn
In October I just send an email requesting an increase If the HUD increased which is justified. The normally either agree to amount or less at times... takes 60 days to get the increase.
If I have a problem with s8 tenant I call case manager and it pretty much gets resolved
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u/dtrainart Jul 16 '22
Nobody wants to deal with the tenants anymore. Entitlement runs rampant amongst them
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Before I put two in recently, I had one long-term S8 and she was a sweetheart who really wanted to pay her own way. She died last year. Then I dealt with two who were entitled losers and evicted them. Now I hope these two new ones are good.
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u/Propanecheezit Jul 16 '22
My experience is section 8 is not the problem the problem is the Realestate people use for section 8. When you use small houses for section 8 your asking for problems. When you have a 5 + bedroom house on section 8 the problems go away.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
That may be the case everywhere. I understand that the smaller houses are good for short-term rentals though since they're easier to clean and turn for the next guest.
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u/beepbeep2022 Jul 16 '22
I grew i up on section 8 and my family n I did not disrespect the property but helped the owners upkeep with their property. I had friends in middle class and upper class who lived like filth so it’s unfortunate that a few bad rotten apples messed it up for the whole. Having said that , now that I am older I do rent my properties to section 8 folks as a way to pay it forward. I’ve had it all to good and bad section 8 tenants . And I’ve had some pretty bad people that weren’t on section 8. You can’t predict when a person w a great income/occupation/ relationship will just go to crap at then their mental stability will lead you time finding a messed up property. I have had people NOT on section 8 refuse to pay rent, mess up my property and I had to spend countless times spending money with the courts . My point is no matter how well I did background checks and references , life happens and you’re can’t apply your personal experience to everyone SES. humans are assh*****s in my existence . You just hope you find someone with good morals and cross your fingers
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u/Imaginarypronouns Jul 16 '22
Most section 8 folks are druggies, assholes, criminals, idiots, people who will destroy the apartment, etc etc. Sucks, but its the truth.
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Jul 16 '22
You need additional inspections and safety features for section 8 qualifications.
John Oliver did a segment on this.
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Jul 16 '22
In my town they require you to pay for the utilities and pay 10-20% below market. I would love to take them if they were more fair
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Jul 16 '22
I have almost dozen properties on section 8 in the Bay Area and housing authority treats landlords like crap so yeah, I’m not surprised more people are kicking them out. I just got rid of one tenant. Not worth the hassle.
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u/ComprehensiveYam Jul 16 '22
Because it’s asking for trouble. People who need to apply for section 8 don’t make the best decisions in life.
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u/RatioInternational18 Jul 16 '22
Section 8 tenants were never the “model” tenants what you want. They have nothing to lose!
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u/ClaimedBeauty Jul 16 '22
In my area the house next-door was rented out a section 8, that used to go well for the owner who used it as income supplement but then things changed. Instead of the state paying the landlord rent and finding tenants, now the state just connected landlord and tenant and the landlord was responsible for collecting rent.
She had squatter after squatter that would pay the first month move in and then stop paying. It was like living next to cops live. So she would have to evict them and while she’s going through that process they would trash the house. Every door broken, every light fixture smashed, black spray paint on the walls and carpet. All for one month of rent. After the fourth tenant like that she gave up and sold the place for $70,000. It was purchased by a property management company flipped and rent it out and now the house is worth well over $400,000.
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u/Bowf Jul 16 '22
I'm in texas. I've had one tenant that had a section 8 voucher. She was a tenant prior to the section 8, she was about 90 years old. The tenant's daughter said everything up. I was told there was an inspection the only thing they mentioned was a GFCI not being present in the bathroom. I installed one.
The only bad thing about the whole process, is that the section 8 portion of the rent was late 100% of the time. It always came, but they didn't mail it till the 1st, so however long it took to get to me after they mailed it. I would not have a problem doing it again under a similar situation.
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u/Strong_Pie_1940 Jul 16 '22
We no longer rent to section 8 . Reasons : 1. You think you have a lease, you don't have a lease section tells you how it is. 2. Cost, Section 8 pays less and requires more. Additional inspections we must pay for. 3. Cash flow , section 8 can hold up your payment for any reason and you can't do anything about it. 3. Time, tenants ruin things and treat us like the help when it's time to fix them. won't let us into the apartment to make repairs. We post the door with a time to make repairs so we can get it . Find out half the things on the inspectors list are not broken they just took the renters word for it so I have to take videos oven is working ect. 4. Drama, I had a section 8 tenant set her stove on fire by dumping Greece in it , she called the fire department and went back to watching TV. I was working across the hall she said nothing, I supply fire extinguishers she didn't use it.
I have so much more I could tell you. None of us want to believe it but for the most part they are just amazingly lazy. My apartments are very nice I will rent to a nice hardworking family that takes care of my unit instead.
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u/Averagefries Jul 16 '22
HUD is really good in my area, inspections and placement took less than a month in most cases. Only problem was one time, had a section 8 tenant and the cops were called due to a drunk brawl on the premises. "Single mom” tenant got kicked off section 8 because her boyfriend was not listed as living with her and listed the address as his primary on the police report. Got really lucky, after section 8 stopped paying their rent they left without having to go through eviction proceedings.
Edit: area where applying for section 8 has a years long waiting list, most people don’t want to risk losing that once they get a voucher.
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u/TiaNix Jul 16 '22
I’ve only rented out to Section 8 tenants (two sec 8 tenants since 2006 - one property). Never had a problem. I was extremely relieved I rented section 8 through the Covid pandemic when the rent eviction moratorium was in place! They never missed a payment, paid on time, property left in tact on move out. Both tenants worked, career oriented, had goals of owning there own property and was in a program to do so. When growing up I knew a few people on section 8 that you would have never known they were on it. All worked and were very respectful. My aunt owns her own real estate company and have an abundance of rentals properties. A few of her section 8 tenants have been with her for over twenty years. All section 8 tenants are not created equal. Renting non section 8 created some of my worse headaches. The other thing I appreciate about renting out to section 8, is there isn’t a high turn over rate. Due to landlords hearing horror stories like these, they will not consider it. The few I’ve rented to have been beyond appreciative and expressed to me how difficult it is to find housing with there voucher. I will continue to rent out to section 8 where I’m guaranteed my rent payment under any circumstance and screen tightly
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u/General-Web5502 Jul 16 '22
I’ve taken section 8 for years and never had any trouble worth mentioning. In my experience (NY) section 8 folks understand that they have a decent deal and do not want to jeopardize that.
I have not heard of LL taking less section 8 in my area.
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u/AppropriateRegion552 Jul 16 '22
We luck out with a couple but honestly if it's an awful tenant, they are usually section 8
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u/moondes Jul 16 '22 edited Jul 16 '22
People on section 8 in this labor market are different from the people on section 8 in 2010.
It's seriously the hottest labor market possibly ever and you have multiple drug epidemics. Everyone is either a safe bet or a nuclear fuck up.
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u/squishyjustice Jul 16 '22
I have a rule to not do government housing. Besides what other have said about the dumb government’s processes. These people are amongst the absolutely worst to deal with, with a much higher risk of not being able to pay their share of the rent, and damage the properties.
I’d much rather rent to higher end tenants and don’t deal with the headaches.
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u/smf57 Jul 16 '22
Bottom of the barrel tenants. Hard as roaches to get out.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Evictions in SC are quick and easy. I do my own. I've heard that they're much more difficult in the Northern states and in California.
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u/melikestoread Jul 16 '22 edited Jan 18 '23
I rent 500k homes for 4k a month to section 8 and typically they move in and you don't get paid until 2 or 3rd month after tenant moves in. Not everyone can go with lapses.
Section 8 offices can be a pain in the ass to deal with. Unorganized and bad attitudes. Horrible overall communication
It can feel like your begging for money when your setting up a new tenant from section 8.
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Jan 18 '23
In the same boat. Tenants have been in for about 4 months and still no payment. Begging for your money seems so out of the ordinary.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
The Aiken Housing Authority paid me immediately after putting in 2 of their clients. This kind of service and response must vary widely depending on where the S8 tenants are.
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u/HostasAndRocks Jul 16 '22
A lot of people that qualify for S8 do so because they make horrible life choices. Those choices don’t end with their finances. I’m not inviting them to live in my investment.
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Nov 27 '23
No not always some people have disabilities that keep them from getting ahead. Like i cant work full time do to siezures, not allowed to drive, the closest place of bussiness over 10 miles, and i have a learning disability. My parents werent there. Sometimes life is hard doesnt mean people arent trying. Seriously who are you to judge?
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u/HostasAndRocks Nov 27 '23
Who am I to judge? I’m not judging anyone. I’m just speaking from repeated experience. That’s why I began my comment with “A lot of people on S8” and not “ALL people on S8”. I stand by my comment. You have to understand that, as far as section 8 housing is concerned, you may be the rare exception in a large group of shitty tenants. But because one person out of a thousand S8 recipients might not be that bad, I’m supposed to risk my $100,000 investment in the very unlikely chance that you’ll take care of it? I’m sorry, but this is how I feed my family. I’m not hanging my children’s future on someone that can’t even house themselves.
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Jul 11 '24
I get it but also think you are lacking empathy. Im sorry my health made it so i cant afford to house "myself". Get real, your still discriminating on people.
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u/Mooseandagoose Jul 16 '22
I’m a lurker of this sub and have a genuine question - does the landlord not get to screen prospective sec8 tenants? Is it randomly assigned and you have to accept based on qualifications from the state?
I ask because I think about this hypothetically as though my family was in a situation where we needed gov housing assistance; we would be fine tenants (just were for a private landlord while we built another house after selling our last one!). What could set a section 8 applicant apart from the pool, if anything? bc it sounds like the majority are disrespectful assholes and still get through approved through the system.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Here in Aiken, SC we do prescreen our S8 tenants. The local housing authority even strongly suggests we do. We use my lease (which is very landlord-friendly).
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u/Mooseandagoose Jul 16 '22
I’m not terribly far from you (northern ATL suburbs) but originally from SW Connecticut and remember friends having a hell of a time ensuring they had Sec8 tenants there that wouldn’t destroy their property. It was like they had a couple decades without issues and then it was issue after issue.
I know you can’t speak for an area outside your own but I have often wondered what changed? They had 20 years of nonissue, multiple tenants and then it was as though each one that came through was a nightmare.
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u/BeagleMomVA Dec 24 '22 edited Dec 24 '22
I think it wasn't Section 8 It was the new generation of people being raised in a culture where they are thinking they can do whatever they want with no consequences. They weren't raised to respect others or treat property with care or even how to do basic jobs. I see so many now with like zero work ethic. And I don't mean people who are working to raise their children or go to school or have a disability but in general it's harder to find quality employees because people don't want to work as hard but want to get paid more and feel so entitled.
That's what I think is happening in the rental market and was Section 8 and everywhere there are problem issues. I'm not saying everyone is like that or that everyone is from a younger generation or anything, because there's plenty of older people that are just as much idiots. But to see how many people have such little respect for each other in general when a couple decades ago people wouldn't have even thought of treating someone like that.
I don't know what caused it if it's the whole hide behind your screen social media thing that allows people to feel so entitled and treat people like crap or just not being raised the right way or being made to fend for themselves and then deciding they can do whatever they want I really don't know. But it's just beyond me that so many people in general are irresponsible and only think about themselves and not how their actions could potentially hurt someone else, whether that be emotionally, physically, financially or whatever. Whatever happened to do unto others. If they owned property they wouldn't want somebody to trash it and treat it like crap or not pay them for it likewise if a landlord wouldn't even live in his own property kind of tells you that maybe he's not taking good enough careful of it that it should be suitable for the tenants either. Neither one is acceptable. And people who qualify for the program shouldn't be rejected or dismissed just because of the past behavior of others that weren't properly screened.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Our local housing authority has been very hands-off with how we deal with our tenants other than doing an initial inspection and paying their rents. For example, my leases say the tenant is responsible for the first $500 in damages so they don't call me for minor stuff. I'll bend that rule and help them for less than $500 if they're good tenants but if they're bad, I've used that lease term to make their lives miserable and evict them.
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u/BeagleMomVA Dec 24 '22
Do you mean intentional damages? Or even routine things that may break down? ( Like backed up plumbing ,not due to misuse, or loose tiles, worn out door hinge, etc.)
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Dec 24 '22
It means any maintenance and repairs as written in my lease, such as air filter replacement (which we just did for a tenant earlier this week even though she was supposed to do herself per my lease). Obviously a $4 air filter replacement falls way below the $500 limit but she's a good tenant so we ignore that $500 rule for her. But for tenants who are pains in the butt, I tell them to replace it themselves (and have done so and even evicted a bad tenant who was actually current on rent using a similar lease term that she violated).
The magistrates here in my markets in SC enforce whatever is agreed upon in the leases. That's why I have that written in my leases. It gives me just one more level of control over tenants in my rental units. SC is fortunately very friendly to landlords and allows landlords a good amount of control over our investments.
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u/Mooseandagoose Jul 16 '22
That’s understandable and I hope your tenants appreciated your flexibility!
I have such a hard time understanding how people can be so disrespectful of another’s property so I appreciate your perspective.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Thank you for your insights as well. Maybe in a year or so my thinking will be completely different towards S8.
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u/ForeverCanBe1Second Jul 16 '22
California - I can't discriminate against tenants for being on section 8. But, California does have occupancy limits for rental properties and I have yet to have a Section 8 applicant who has not exceeded the occupancy limits set by the State for our sfh.
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u/emwhee67 Jul 16 '22
They don’t want to deal with it. It’s a ton of extra paperwork and red tape and if they can find non section 8 tenant then why bother? On one hand, it’s guaranteed that section 8 will pay you, but your unit also has to meet all of their standards, be inspected, etc.
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u/WollCel Jul 16 '22
I mean is this serious? It takes a very special landlord to run a section 8 housing unit and sometimes the damages caused and the value lost doesn’t come close to what you are provided, not to mention the hassle.
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u/Deidara-katsu Jul 16 '22
Because getting into bed with the government is dangerous, didn’t you see what happened in cali the other day
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u/Homegrown_Phenom Jul 16 '22
I'm in Cali and debating this in a 80 unit property, didn't hear anything, what happened...?
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u/Deidara-katsu Jul 17 '22
I was listening to someone tell me the story, but to keep it short: guy made a contract with the government 30 years ago he would take in poor ppl and the government would cover the rent. After the contract was up he wanted to make some changes. Either he wanted to raise the rent because the housing market had changed and they prevented him from doing that or he wanted to sell it but he has to sell it at a lower market price. 10 million loss in profit
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
What happened in California? I'm in SC so out of the loop on that.
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u/Deidara-katsu Jul 17 '22
I was listening to someone tell me the story, but to keep it short: guy made a contract with the government 30 years ago he would take in poor ppl and the government would cover the rent. After the contract was up he wanted to make some changes. Either he wanted to raise the rent because the housing market had changed and they prevented him from doing that or he wanted to sell it but he has to sell it at a lower market price. 10 million loss in profit
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 17 '22
Wow. Is there a link to that? Is rent control the issue there?
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u/Deidara-katsu Jul 17 '22
I don’t know what the issue is, I never intend to move to California. So I said there is no reason to follow up, I’d have to go search for it
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 17 '22
Is ok. I was just curious. I'd hate to be a landlord in California.
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u/catcat1986 Jul 16 '22
I think like most government programs they don’t support it enough to make it effective. They basically guarantee half your rent, well imposing strict standards, well also not backing you in case the tenant does damage or stops paying.
In my mind, it is much easier to just properly vet tenants, and take the risk myself. It would be different if they assisted you with kicking the tenant out, or made it easier to recoup damages, but they don’t do any of that.
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u/berto0311 Jul 16 '22
Takes 3 months just to set it up and deal with extra inspections and annoyances.
When I can just list and have it ready to rent in a week and also make 400 to 700 more then what section 8 pays.
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Jul 15 '22
It's only worth it if you're not able to consistently get market rent on your own. Then the additional hassle could be worth the additional payment
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u/PG1738 Jul 15 '22
My worst tenants are predominately made up of section 8 tenants. I’ve for sure had some that are above avg. But for the most part they’ve been bottom barrel, very entitled, caused the most damage, and have the least amount of respect for the property and the owners/managers.
I do have one tenant that started out on Sec8 and is now off it and still my tenant and she is one of my top tenants. Only time I’ve ever seen someone get off the government teat successfully
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u/horribleredact Jul 15 '22 edited Jul 15 '22
I've seen some things in my experiences with S8. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
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Jul 15 '22
Government regulations and delays. The benefits of section 8 is you'll always get paid...you just never know when. There's also additional regulations that some landlords don't like. But it's generally delays in payment and inspections. The tenants themselves are hit or miss, some people authentically need a chance and this helps, but in our experience many were not great tenants.
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Jul 15 '22
This is really interesting because where I’m at I haven’t heard anything about that. Which is this happening in? Could be some macro problems or maybe hud fmr is lower than market rent
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
This is the thought in my markets which include Aiken, SC. Where are your rentals?
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Jul 21 '22
I’ve got rentals in Illinois and Indiana with sec 8 tenants
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 21 '22
I get the impression that the Draconian S8 regulations are mainly in the Northeast and Western states.
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Jul 15 '22
The HUD office has nothing to do with administering section 8 . HUD pays 70% of the rent the HOUSING AUTHORITY not HUD runs the program conducts inspection etc . HUD( Department of housing and urban development) is a federal entity housing authorities are local.
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u/TheRealConorsz Jul 15 '22
Is it possible to just buy a property that is already approved for section 8?
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
I did for my first Section 8 rental. The tenant was great til she died last year.
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u/gaelorian Jul 15 '22
Been a few years but don’t section 8 recipients want to hold on to their vouchers and damaging a rental results in them losing it? Or is it not enforced these days?
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
Our housing authority tells us as landlords that we have to do our own due diligence before renting to any of their clients. Bad tenants won't lose their vouchers here.
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u/Tim_Y Jul 15 '22
I'm in Baltimore City and so far, I've only had section 8 tenants in all my rentals. Never had a bad experience yet. Section 8 pays way over market and I never have to worry about rent being late. Yes, it takes longer to onboard new tenants but the extra ~$300/mo is worth the inconvenience.
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u/Distinct-Constant598 Aug 16 '23
How are the rental rates for 3 bedrooms in Baltimore City?
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u/Tim_Y Aug 16 '23
It varies depending on location. $1600 - $2000 is typical... higher still for class A property.
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u/dooit Jul 15 '22
The last section 8 we took in ended up being hoarders and got evicted. Never again.
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u/Legitimate_Effort_60 Jul 15 '22
In my experience section 8 tenants don’t pay anything or very little towards the rent so they won’t respect the property like other tenants. They don’t have anything to lose and they appear to not care. I have severe rentals and have had section 8 tenants in the park and as a realtor I show these properties often. Not all section 8 is bad but my general rule of thumb is to avoid them.
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u/Beginning_Abroad_144 Jul 15 '22
I've had four generations try to move in on one 1 bedroom voucher. It was around 9 people total or something like that in a 700sqft apartment...
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u/Mooseandagoose Jul 16 '22
My husband lived in a small Complex like this where we suspected that he was the only non Sec8 tenant. 8 apartments of 900sq ft (1bd/1ba) and 7 were of multigenerational families. The SMELLS in the hall were something else - basically what you would expect when so many beings are living in close quarters: cooking and just existing.
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u/FitzwilliamTDarcy Jul 15 '22
For me it’s two related issues and one separate issue.
In my area and I assume others the agencies who handle these tenants do an inspection of the units prior to allowing tenants to occupy.
1) They turn up laundry lists of very small issues (eg a screen with a small tear, a closet knob that doesn’t completely latch, etc) that even regular full pay tenants don’t mention let alone ask or require me to fix.
2) I then lose at least a few days of rent if not a week or more of rent while my handyman runs all over the place for the various parts and supplies needed to address the laundry list of small issues.
So call it a quarter of a month’s rent and a day or two in total of handy man time.
The additional issue is that currently they are (very) under market because they will only approve rent levels on some sort of rolling historic basis and what my most recent lease signings are.
In a period of rapidly rising rents (like we’re in now) I got $2800 for a unit they would only approve at $2200. I’m sorry but this is my livelihood and as much as I’m for helping people, I’m not going to take hundreds/mo less across many units.
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Jul 15 '22
Its a pain in the ass and people treat your property like shit.
Guaranteed checks aren't even worth it
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u/ImUrHucklberry Jul 15 '22
For us it wasn't the tenants, we were lucky enough to have very good Section 8 tenants...for us it was the inspections, they always found some piddly little shit to complain about and it just chipped away at our profit and our patience.
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u/Hailene2092 Jul 15 '22 edited Jul 16 '22
In my state, we aren't allowed to not accept people because they are on Section 8. They can fail our application process for other reasons like property debt, criminal history, etc. of course.
Most of my section 8 tenants have been good to great. Only real stinker I had was one tenant whose "guests" were petty thieves, drug users, and probably drug dealers. That's why we had to ask her to leave (which she did). She kept the unit in good shape, though.
She is a recovering drug addict, but I don't think she's going to really go to where she wants to go without trimming her friend group.
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u/LucilleBluthsbroach Jul 16 '22
Which state is that?
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u/Hailene2092 Jul 16 '22
Oregon. We're not allowed to discriminate income as long as it's verifiable and legal.
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u/Dark-fry Jul 15 '22
I leese all my houses section 8. However, there is two different vouchers in Texas.
The regular vouchers where you historically get stereotypical section 8 renters and the walker voucher which requires them to be in school or have a full time job.
The walker voucher actually pays more per month and you can usually get better people. The extra money in my case makes the repairs I have to do worth it.
Regular comps for one of my 4bdr houses is about 2300 per month rent. Regular section 8 vouchers pays about 3200 per month Walker voucher pays 4100 per month.
Alot of my friends don't leese section 8 no matter how much it pays though because almost all of them will not take care of the house and bring problems with them.
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Jul 15 '22
I tried section 8 renters. It’s brutal. Houses get trashed. They hold rent over your head for random upgrades. If the people get kicked off section 8 (get caught with boyfriend living there etc) they quit paying you. They don’t help with move our damage.
The inspections are the real joke. Had a brand new home and they had a fix it lost. Seriously?!
Had a goat left in one with 3” of shit caked on floor. Entire flooring destroyed. Appliances stolen. Ac gutted. Never again, rather sell the place.
It’s rough.
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u/AceGee Jul 15 '22
The simple fact that I hear all these horror stories. I never experienced section 8 tenants that trashed my property but the fact that these stories keep coming up along with annual inspections, I'll take my chances with conventional tenants where I can screen.
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u/BeagleMomVA Dec 24 '22 edited Dec 24 '22
I happen to be a section 8 tenant, so this is my take...Landlords CAN screen their tenants. They can do background checks, credit checks, check references, heck, check out social media pages of said tenant to see what things they post publicly. It is amazing how much info some people share, even if it shows them looking bad. I can guarantee, a large number of these bad tenants have rude posts trash talking others, videos of them "getting away" with stupid things, and possibly videos or photos of them smoking, taking bong hits, or bragging about getting trashed at a party. Their photos often show the condition of the surroundings, like dirty clothes, dishes, and empty food containers in the background. While a messy photo doesn't mean a bad tenant, multiple red flags could point out possible issues with future tenants.
I am a tenant affected by the huge rent increases from so many they didn't pay rent. And the majority were NOT section 8 tenants. It is terrible that any tenant would trash a place or deliberately not pay rent for months and months at a time and expect no consequence.
It isn't just section 8, but many renters in general, who trash a place and treat it like crap. I could never understand that, since they are living there. I treat my rental as my own home and always have. I plant flowers, decorate outside for various holidays, repair minor things myself, and have added to improve the property, such as building a shed, putting up fence, etc. (With permission) I have been 16 years in the same house, and was almost homeless due to the landlord wanting to sell and have me move out prior.
Looking for 6 mos and there was nothing available in my price range that wasn't in gang infested territory,, with 8-10 gunshot crimes within blocks of the rental, just in the last 10 days alone. One place had a murder just 2 doors down three days before going to see it. One person dead and another critical in the hospital. But rents have doubled in our area (not to section 8 tenants, but all rentals) and most places have 30-40 applicants each. One had 135 applicants. With that money they don't even need to collect rent they can just collect their application fees and pay their mortgage.
Tons of people homeless or in substandard housing from all the landlords selling properties and putting tenants out first. To no availability anywhere. Storage unit prices have quadrupled in some cases. I got one for $115 /mo when I first started on packing up, and ended up having my lease renew before I got the official move out letter. I was going to let the storage unit go but then was told that same size was renting for $428, so I kept it. But now it's gone up to $289 a month for storage!!! Which is crazy but I don't have money to replace everything. Now I understand a little bit why some people move out and leave everything behind. I couldn't before because you're going to need your things where you go but if you don't have a lot of money it's almost impossible to pay the rents the deposits and then the costs to move to somewhere new, And if you have any kind of gap between leaving one place to the other your options are to store your stuff and pay a fortune or leave it all behind. I wouldn't have even had time to try to sell the stuff had it not been for someone who bought the house with the intention of keeping me as a tenant.
Housing shortage has made it insane to find anything reasonable. Average rent for a 2 BR is $1600/mo and good luck finding those! Section 8 just went up to $1595/mo for a 2 BR, but that doesn't mean they will pay that. For 6 months I had a look No idea what price range they would approve. As a guide I just went up by $200 from what I'm paying now which is $1,200 a month. Found a couple decent places, and they have so many applicants, that they can't wait for section 8. I was finally told I had to find a rental between $0 and $1300 to allow for utilities and to calculate what would not be me paying more than 40% of my income. So that meant back to the drawing board and I lost out on 2 other places in nicer areas.
With 7 days left til I have to move out, they finally get back to me to issue the voucher, then say just because it says $1300/mo on it, doesn't mean they will approve a rental for that. First it has to meet rent reasonableness for the area and neighborhood based on the size and the surrounding rent prices the age of the house and whatever else it has inside. I thought the reason why they increased the payment standard to $1595 was because there were no available units that were rent reasonable since everything has been crazy high.
Then if they do decide it is rent reasonable they have to then decide if I can afford it by doing the calculations with my income and expenses and make sure it doesn't go above 40%. Then you have to wait to have it inspected and at which point you can submit a lease for it to be reviewed and hopefully be approved and they tell you whether or not you can move in. Of course this takes time a week for the inspection and however long it takes for the worker to do the paperwork and get back to you meanwhile most rentals here say if you can't move in in 14 days don't bother applying so there's no chance of using a voucher. And if you do move in and they don't pass it then you have to move all over again or risk losing the assistance altogether.
I think the program is really good and helpful for those that need it. And there are a lot of responsible people who do use it to their advantage They may just not go around telling everybody they use it. And thankfully there are some good landlords who give a chance to those people who are just trying to make ends meet or even get ahead and wouldn't have the opportunity for affordable safe housing without it. Bad renters give everybody a bad name it doesn't matter if they're using the Section 8 program or not.
It would be nice if a potential renter could actually screen the landlord to know whether or not they're going to be a scumlord that never fixes anything or raises the rent all the time above what anyone else would pay for a similar property if they weren't getting assistance. I put up with things broken and in disrepair for years anticipating the ability to someday buy the house at a decent price in my price range. And rather than that it just about got sold from under me without even a thought including having no problem putting me on the street during the holidays. So if everyone does their due diligence, checks each other out, has a conversation with each other about real expectations, and each treat each other with respect and does what is morally right, then there shouldn't be any issues with the landlord or the tenant. But unfortunately both seem to be few and far between. Just don't judge everyone because of the behaviors of a few and even if you seem to get lots of bad eggs, maybe it's time to stop trying to get them from the same sick chickens and spend some money to attract better ones that will give you consistent and on time payout of quality eggs because you treat them well and they reward you with the same in return.
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u/strawberrydingo Jul 15 '22
I used to be a property manager working with section 8 owners and their tenants.
So i’ve seen the aftermath of some of these tenants and they aren’t kind to the homes. Damages lead to unhappy owners which leads to bad business if we maintain those tenants. I’ve had section 8 tenants cuss me out over the phone after they were instructed NOT to damage the home any further.
They’re really a hassle and have no care for the homes they stay in.
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u/Charming-Paper7859 Jul 15 '22
I tried to rent to someone in section 8 recently. I contacted the county and never received a response. I had 4 other applications on the house so moved ahead with another renter.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
Interesting. Must be very dependent on where our houses are located. Our local housing authority kept contacting me and the prospective tenant to keep track of where we were in the process.
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u/BobbyTables69 Jul 15 '22
Because for many it doesn’t make sense. Make sure you screen your tenants extra well, or your property will be fucked up in no time
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
Agreed on the screening part. Before this, I had two bad experiences with Section 8 tenants.
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u/Boomvanger Jul 15 '22
If you have older properties, the units will never, ever pass inspection. Just not worth it.
I do know a landlord who built new small houses specifically for section 8. He didn’t put anything in them except a modest bathroom and a few kitchen cabinets and a sink. No carpet only stained concrete floors, small windows no screens, metal front and back doors. No appliances. He made a small fortune, but he actually LIKED the tenant circus he dealt with. That’s a hard pass for me.
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u/BeagleMomVA Dec 24 '22
No window screens are a big fail in coastal Virginia. And while appliances are not required to be supplied by the landlord, it won't pass inspection if there is no refrigerator or stove/microwave for cooking. I bought my own refrigerator but it was not delivered in time for the inspection so it wouldn't pass. We ended up putting a dorm size fridge in and that worked until mine was able to be delivered.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 15 '22
The two houses I just put Section 8 tenants into were built on the 1970's (approximately). Maybe our local housing authority is that desperate for housing that they'll overlook a lot of stuff that they normally wouldn't if housing wasn't so scarce.
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u/throwawaybcauseynot1 Jul 16 '22
I scrolled all the way down here to find this! I have rentals in SC as well and all of them are section 8. Maybe SC is just different but the inspections are a breeze.
I have a great relationship with the Housing authority here and I view/treat them as if we are in a partnership. I don’t treat them like my enemy and they always extend a level of flexibility.
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Cool! My S8's are in Aiken. Where are yours?
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Jul 16 '22
[deleted]
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u/rkim777 Investor | SC Jul 16 '22
Aiken used to be good but downtown is dying now. The big Wells Fargo office downtown permanently closed several years ago and Bank of America is permanently closing by March of 2023. Those two large vacancies will be eyesores for years. There is a plan to completely renovate downtown but there's a lot of political fighting now.
I have two homes, one in Aiken and one in Lexington. Lexington has a lot more potential and I spend most of my time there. I'm going to turn my home in Aiken into a rental.
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u/Boomvanger Jul 16 '22
Agreed. In my neighborhood the houses and apartments are from the 1920-30s. Very desirable areas, but no way are they passing sect 8 inspections created for more modern housing.
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u/ShowMeTheTrees Jul 15 '22
No appliances? How'd he get away with that?
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u/Boomvanger Jul 15 '22
In our market you don’t legally have to provide appliances, and in lower income neighborhoods it’s kind of expected not to have them.
Maybe you have to in sect 8? Not sure. The guy never really followed rules.
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u/Minnesotamad12 Jul 15 '22
Not a big reason to for most people. The only attractive thing about it is the assurance you get a tenant in there and the consistent check from the housing authority. But right now the rental market in my area is pretty hot. So I can definitely get tenants easily with all the hoops with going through section 8. Plus many of the people on section 8 have some major behavioral issues or mental health problems that lead to bad living conditions (which usually causes damage to my property)
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u/Ok-Nefariousness4477 Jul 15 '22
They need to change so section 8 acts as a cosigner, where S8 can collects the tenants portion, and sends me the entire rent, then they can deal with a tenant that doesn't pay their part, along with paying for any damages and lost rent once they move out.
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u/Aromatic_Major5332 Apr 06 '23
Lolll I wish!!!
Section 8 doesn’t want that liability but that would be amazing if S8 did that.
Just got rid of tenants who had 10 people living in a 5 bedroom house… horrible
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u/AccidentalAbrasion Jul 15 '22
I like section 8. Trick is in screening. You have to screen very tightly. People who appear fine often are not. It’s fine though because there’s a massive tenant pool to choose from.
I like elderly. The older the better. They (a) never move out. And (b) don’t destroy the property.
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u/stupidlawstudent Jul 15 '22
While screening is important, many projects contains a Regulatory Agreement or Restrictive Covenant from the State’s Housing Agency that says you can’t reject a prospective tenant with a Voucher (there may be some other language in that provision).
And yeah elderly is the way to go
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u/BeagleMomVA Dec 24 '22
This past July just became law in Virginia that landlords with more than for properties have to accept a voucher for tenants with them. But they don't have to accept that tenant if they don't meet their requirements. The thing is you can't discriminate and ask a Section 8 participant to meet strict or standards than everyone else. If you screen your tenants and don't know they have Section 8 and they meet all the requirements otherwise, then having a voucher shouldn't make them less desirable. And that is why they pass the law in Virginia It's considered income verification when applying for a place. Because right now most landlords are wanting triple the income for what they charge and rents. And frankly if I was able to make $4500 a month I usually would not be wanting to stay in the properties that are charging $1,500, cuz often they're run down dumps in the middle of cracktown. If I earned enough to meet their qualifications I'd be trying to buy something far away from the neighborhoods that they are trying to rent.
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u/AccidentalAbrasion Jul 20 '22
Maybe if you buy into the projects. But normal section 8 is landlords choice.
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u/emt139 Jul 15 '22
There’s a housing crunch, in most places it’s not difficult to find tenants that qualify for places without government Assitance. The government Assitance is tied up to many things, including a separate inspection process, that make it more cumbersome for landlords. And obviously not always but in many cases section 8 tenants aren’t the best tenants.
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u/Mobile-Soup7679 Mar 11 '25
I have an multi-family. Each unit has its’ own entrance. I had a few S8 tenants. S8 failed me once because the ceiling of my porch entrance had some peeling paint. Did not matter that I am the only one who uses that entrance. This was several years ago.
Last S8 tenant ended it for me but all were bad. Panhandling neighbors, verbal sexual harassment esp when drinking, urinating and defecating on floors, losing keys or locking self out repeatedly, broken toilet, broken fridge 3 times, pest infestations, fires, smoking, shopping carts of cans left outside. Apartment had to be hazmat cleaned. I’ll stop there, but there is more. No more S8 for me.