HUD housing, Pittsburgh, PA

[Javonn Musgrove]

Hi all,

Anyone ever house hacked with a Section 8 renter in the other unit?

If so, I’d love some advice or tips.

[Anthony Angotti]

@Javonn Musgrove never done it with a section 8 tenant, but I do have a couple section 8 tenants that I inherited. 

As long as you screen well they really aren't that much different than a market rate tenant. The same potential issues tenant wise can come up so I wouldn't really worry there.

However, Allegheny Housing Authority is a huge pain to deal with. So I don't actually do section 8 or assisted housing programs for that reason. They went to one of my properties 4 times before eventually approving the unit for rent. Each time they went we fixed all of the issues that they mentioned, but they kept coming up with a new list every time they went and were moving the goal posts on us. 

It really depends on which inspector you get, but because of how annoying the inspections tend to be, we don't do it any more. The areas we invest in also attract higher rents for market rate tenants than the ACHA fair market rents anyway so it doesn't make sense for us to do. 

Best of luck, but in summary I wouldn't worry about the tenants themselves as long as you are OK with the program in general.