Housing Voucher Program in Philadelphia

[Ronak Shah]

I am thinking about enrolling into Philadelphia's housing voucher program. I've heard stories about inspections being brutal and delayed. Anyone have any first hand experience with this process and any thoughts on the program as a whole? I'm specifically curious how long the process takes before you have a tenant ( paperwork, inspection etc), how reliable are payments from the city and how far are they from market value ?

Any advice appreciated

[Sheryl Sitman]

PHA is a poorly run bureaucratic agency. You will get paid on time. Market rate rent is dependent on tenants income. You need to vet the tenant thoroughly. There is little accountability built into the program and no support from PHA to you as the owner. You can get a tenant whose portion is still a significant part of the rent and that is potential problem. Inspection is sometimes crazy sometimes easy. So go in with eyes wide open. It works for some. But many have sworn it off forever.