Section 8 Investing in San Antonio

[Steven Meyer]

I have long considered renting out to Section 8 for the consistent rent checks. Has anyone here done it and what has been your experience with it in the SA area?

One of my main questions is determining rent. How do you determine rent for the unit and what is the voucher willing to pay? I have found conflicting info. I found a list of zip codes that has different rents for the # of bedrooms but then when I spoke with someone at the housing authority they gave me different numbers. Please advise if you have any experience. Thanks!

[Kyle Mccaw]

@Steven Meyer 

We manage a number of section 8. We find that the program works best for houses you can't get rented traditionally. These tend to be lower end properties in less desirable locations.

As for determining rental amounts. Section 8 will only allow market rate for rent. Don't expect to have Sect.8 to pay more. If you have a 3 bed property the tenant needs a 3 bed voucher. If the tenant has a 2 bed voucher and your property has 3...you can only charge the market rate for a 2 bed. Be sure the # of beds on the voucher match the property. Do not waste your time with any tenants that do not have a voucher in hand. It's like they apply for section 8 and wanna go Christmas shopping with no money. They have to wait until they get a voucher.

As for "guaranteed rent"...the tenant has a case worker that will work out a budget with the tenant. That budget will decide what percentage the program pays. If the program is paying 100%...figure your tenant isn't working much, if at all. Most likely they are inside your unit ALL THE TIME. So they may cause more wear and tear. The more they sit in the house the more "problems" they find with your house. Funny how that works. We have found if the tenant is working a job and pay part of the rent they tend to be much better. The program only pays their portion. So you still collect from the tenant their portion. Experience has shown the smaller the portion the harder to collect. In theory you can evict for that smaller portion...

In my personal opinion...section 8 is not for beginners. Most programs require the landlord to get certified through them. There are annual inspections, paperwork, delayed payments (expect 90 days for your rent $$ to come in), lower end tenants, and needless red tape. Keep in mind different housing authorities have section 8 programs. A voucher is from one city typically is good for anywhere nearby. In fact the best program we have dealt with is Plano Housing Authority. And guess what, none of our Plano section 8 tenants live in Plano.