Section 8 Property, has tenant

[Joe Swagerty]

I am looking to buy my 1st investment property soon. A house just came on the market at a good price that my realtor wants to show me. We just found out that it has a Section 8 tenant already living there and that has made me wonder if this is a good idea.

I have read the postings on BP about Section 8, the pros and cons, good stories and horror stories. But what I haven't really seen is if it's a good idea to purchase a home that is already Section 8 approved, has a section 8 tenant who has been a long time tenant (we have been told the tenant has been a renter there on and off for the last 10 years).

Also, since this will be my 1st rental property, would it be recommended that I avoid Section 8 or does it not matter? The lure of having the immediate cash flow from Section 8 is tempting, the house is already Section 8 approved. I also don't know if I will have to do all the Section 8 paperwork to get the property re-approved since I will be the new owner or does it automatically stay on their list, and just have the yearly inspection to make sure it is still up to Section 8 standards?

Any information and/or advice on this would be greatly appreciated!! I am looking at the property tonight and then will need to make a decision on if I want to move forward or look for a different property that is not Section 8.

Also, one last note, the lease that is currently in force is set to expire in May. I am guessing I will have to have the Section 8 inspection at that time if I want to continue offering it to Section 8. If I decide against Section 8, do I have to go through the eviction process if the current tenant refuses to leave or does Section 8 make sure tenants leave properties that are no longer Section 8 approved/available?

[Dawn Anastasi]

Section 8 is just a program, a tenant can be a good or bad tenant regardless if they are on Section 8. However if someone has lived in a property for 10 years, more than likely they are a good tenant because otherwise they would have been gone.

If you're not going to renew the lease with the current tenant, you will have to give them notice according to the Section 8 guidelines. If they don't leave, you will have to evict them. More than likely they don't want to be evicted because they may lose their voucher, so they'll move, but they won't be happy about being kicked out if they didn't do anything wrong.