Maine section 8 advise ans insight

[Michel Bamani]

Any ressources or insight on how to make sure our building Qualify for section 8? Just bought 5 unit in L/A and some tenants are section 8–how do I make sure it all gets transferred to me and that I can justify increasing rents? Also, how do I accept future section 8 applicants? Any insight would be appreciated.

[Bethany Turon]

@Michel Bamani You need to call the Auburn Housing Authority and tell them you purchased a property with Section 8 tenants. Tell them the address and they will transfer you to the person who oversees the tenants. They will send you paperwork to fill out to prove the ownership and enter in your direct deposit information for payment. Do this ASAP or else you’re at risk for having the payment for next month go to the former owner (hopefully you had a clause in the contract to ensure they would forward you the payment if this happened). Once you do the paperwork, you’ll start getting regular communication from them. You want to have a call with your person and they can walk you through the status of each tenant, what their portion is, and what Section 8 pays. You’ll get letters when it is time for annual inspection. You can attend but you don’t need to. They will mail you a letter to let you know if you pass or fall, and then you will have a time period to make any needed repairs (30 or 60 days, I can’t remember). They will come out then and reinspect to ensure the repairs were completed. As far as new tenants, all you have to do is place someone with a voucher, then they will inspect and tell you of any needed repairs, same thought process, you will have time to complete the repairs and then you are all set. Right now L/A is paying owner $750 to accept new Section 8 tenants as an incentive and they are covering as couple thousand in repair costs after the first $500 if necessary.