Do I Like Being a Section 8 Landlord?

by John
(Knoxville,TN)

When it comes to being a Section 8 landlord, I definitely have mixed feelings. While the rent is eventually paid up, 8 out of 10 times it will be late.

Some Section 8 tenants do not listen to your views on how you want the rental property to be taken care of.

My real life experience with Section 8: I have seen 5 cars parked at my one-bedroom rental apartment. I have a Section 8 tenant who owes me $11 every month which he has not paid up in 5 months straight.

Another tenant signed a lease agreement with a no-dog policy (in front of the case worker) and I found one in the rental property the next day. Another time the lock to my rental property was stuck and I had to kick down the door.

If I could go back 15 years ago to when I first started, I would not become a Section 8 landlord (to put it nicely.)

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starstarstarstarstar 		SECTION 8 TENANTS NEW
by: JGT

I have had Section 8 tenants through the years because most of the rent is paid by Housing and is ALWAYS on time. The tenant portions are mostly not paid promptly.

Inspections are made by Housing but landlord is not notified of the date or time of inspection so that they can be there to fix anything that needs fixing. I also find that they do not do thorough inspections and yet are very nit-picky on items that need repair and bypass really important things.

I currently have 3 long-term Section 8 tenants, but I will not be renting to Section 8 in the future since in the Bay Area, the housing market pays more than Section 8 allows.
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starstarstarstarstar 		There are great Section 8 tenants too! NEW
by: Anonymous

I have had many Section 8 tenants over the past 30 years....the secret to renting, period, is screening. My Section 8 tenants are great, but occasionally there is a really bad one that hurts the program but I try to judge each tenant separately....just because one tenant is a poor tenant, does not mean they all are.

I feel good renting to families who are having difficulty finding a home because of the bad things that are said about Section 8. Section 8 is a good thing...we, as landlords, just need to be extra careful when doing our screening.

What you should know up front is that the program pays a "portion" of the rent and it is always on time. The tenant's portion is due and payable and if they don't pay, then you treat them as you would other tenants. It is good to note that if they are ever evicted, then they may lose their Section 8, which they don't want to risk doing.

It IS time consuming to rent thru the program as they do not have the personnel to do things "quickly". If the unit is not ready when they schedule the inspection, then it takes another week or two to schedule a re-inspection. What I do is have a handyman there at the time of inspection so that he can quickly fix anything I missed and the unit will pass on that day, which will be the day of approval. Note: There is an inspection sheet you can download and follow from their website. That way there are no surprises and you know exactly what items are being inspected.

Just be very selective when choosing a tenant and make sure the tenants have had a good rental history and have sufficient income to cover their portion. There are no guarantees when renting to anyone, but you can rest assured that the County will pay their portion on time, every time, and that once you have a good tenant, they will most likely stay for a long time.

Leases are yearly and then go to month-to-month.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Section 8, no different NEW
by: Anonymous

There are ALWAYS bad renters even within the section 8 pool. The inspections are NOT that hard to pass, unless you as a landlord are not taking proper care of your own property. Working toilets, smoke detectors that work, windows that shut, etc. are simple things that every landlord should provide their tenants. Screen your tenants.. good credit, income source, length at previous rental, etc. are all good ways to screen out the bad section 8 renters.
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starstarstarstarstar 		Be highly selective who you choose to rent to
by: Anonymous

I am a single mother who has been raising my daughter alone for 8 yrs. I have a job with the School District where I live. I pay 368 a month for a 725.00 2 bedroom and it has been a Miracle for me as prior to that I could only afford a one bedroom and I slept in the living room. I use to own my own home and was married 14 yrs. My spouse left us and was unfaithful and does not have to pay child support due to being disabled. So...I am a tough woman, nonsmoking who is quiet and respectful of taking care of our apt. I have a smart older border collie who has NEVER gone the bathroom inside and is quiet. She is exceptional and I appreciate the landlord allowing her to be with us as she has been since she was a puppy
I rent a Thermax system and shampoo the rug to keep everything nice every 3 months. However- I have had neighbors in the past 6 yrs. that are also on Sec. 8 and one for medical marajuana disability and the other has 3-4 kids and a couple boyfriend daddies who visit her. This has been a Jerry Springer episode daily complete with Heavy drama of fighting and drug sales. Both of them also have had many people living with them and one had a motor home hooked up to our Duplex for over 2 months with freeloaders in it.
Finally after 4 yrs. of being in close proximity they have been evicted-one by the landlord and the other by the Sherriff. So...if you rent to Sec. 8 -PLEASE be careful and see the red flags. Background checks and intuition are good to go on.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		good luck so far with my section 8 tenent
by: Anonymous

I believe that its becomming more difficult to gain section 8 status as a renter.The current renters do not want to lose this benefit.I am all for stong requirements to gain renter status.As a landlord,we have to maintain our properties to a high level for section 8.As landlords we should demand stricter rule on future section 8 applicants

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