Pros and Cons of Section 8 tenants

[Melissa Faraias]

Hello BP community,

I am relatively new to REI investing and my second rental is on the market. I have been receiving lots of calls, mostly from section 8 tenants. I am considering accepting section 8 but am a bit scared since I need to do more research. The house is also really nicely renovated and I have been told that section 8 tenants do not often take care of a property. I am starting to do more research but would love some input on the pros and cons of renting to section 8 tenants, especially from investors who accept such tenants. Thank you so much for any advice that you can give me. I am thankful for this BP community.

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Melissa Faraias:

Just because someone has a good experience with one Section 8 tenant doesn't mean all of them are good. Go talk to people that work with a lot of Section 8 Tenants. Want to have fun? Check out the Holton-Wise group that deals with hundreds of Section 8 tenants in Cleveland. He has nightmare stories that are hard to believe, but they are all true and recorded on video.

I'm in a small, conservative community with renters who behave better than those in the big city. I used to accept Section 8 but gave it up after so many of the tenants turned bad. I had one single mom that only had to pay $25 a month, and she was late every month! When I finally kicked her out, she left about $25,000 in damages in today's dollars. About 80% of my Section 8 tenants left a lot of cleaning and repairs. It wasn't worth it.