Voucher Question in Baltimore Area.

[Lakshay G.]

Hello,

I have a rental house in Brooklyn Park, Maryland in Anne Arundel County.

I am getting a lot of calls from prospective tenants that have a voucher. I usually don't prefer them as I'd rather deal with a "regular paying" tenant. But one case has caught my attention. This tenant gets $1490 for her rent in voucher and she has been in the same house for 9 years, the reason why she is moving out is because the neighborhood has gone much worse for her and her daughter (she lives in Brooklyn currently) and I have verified that easily. 

My asking rental price is $1300. Where she is at now is a 3 bedroom place and I have a 2 bedroom house. If I choose to go forward with her, can I ask for $1490 from the government or will they pay me less automatically because I have a 2 bedroom house as compared to her 3 bedroom house right now? Are their yearly inspection tough to pass in Anne Arundel County? I have a "Lead-Free" Certified house.

Is there any way to have an inspection done from the county BEFORE I decide to go with a voucher tenant?

Thank you in Advance.

[Michael Randle]

So I have not dealt with MD voucher program, and the knowledge I am about to drop is from CO. But I would assume the broad strokes are going to apply. I have looked into MD's program, but per-government effectiveness not much information is available without going down in person.

So first you have to get your rental approved by the city to take part in Section 8. This includes a first inspection which they will point out annoyingly small details that must be fixed, and then a second inspection in which you show said details are fixed. The city will then TELL YOU how much your unit qualifies for, based on similar units the government told them how much they where worth and the amenities that you might offer. Most likely you will not get close to the 3 bedroom $1490 amount she is getting. But you can always put your unit for rent for more then the voucher, and the tenant has to make up the difference.

Example, you get your unit certified to take part in the section 8 program and the city tells you it will give you $1000 a month with the voucher. You can put your unit up for rent at $1300, but the renter must come up with the $300 difference every month.

Granted your numbers will be different and your situation will vary. But some things to keep in mind: You will need to get at least 1 inspections (at the speed of government efficiency) and if I remember correctly take a weekend course provided by the city before you can accept vouchers. This means to expect at least a month of downtime before you can accept. I know in CO the voucher price paid was considerably lower than fair market value, but Baltimore might be different due to economics. If an issue comes up with the tenante you need to go through an arbitration process provided by the city (I remember reading this detail but the nuts and bolts escape me right now).

Hope that helps a little and I am sure someone who deals with Sec 8 here in Baltimore can offer some more insight. @Ned Carey answered some of my questions in the past.