Buying Property with Existing Section 8 and Rent to Own

[Brook W.]

I have a chance to acquire three new units, and it looks like a good deal for us.

The only thing is: I have only dealt with traditional leases, i.e. one or two years, monthly payments, month's notice to move out, etc.

One of these units is traditional as I described above. One (in a duplex with the first) is occupied by a Section 8 tenant. The third-- a single family-- the seller describes as rent to own, and is about a year into a 15 year lease.

I'd really prefer to buy these units and hand them off to a property manager right off the bat. Do you know if Section 8 rules allow that? The only thing I know about Section 8 is that they determine the condition your property must be in, as well as the market rates. I am not sure if they have rules about who manages and what liabilities the owner has vs. the manager.

I am also curious if anyone has bought a home where the tenant is already on a path to ownership. I haven't asked for the details of how they set this up but the seller describes it like this: "at $---/month for 15 yrs (rent to own) i.e. they need to pay $---,--- total over 15 years." -- where the total payment is 2 or 3 times what the house is worth right now. Sounds kind of like a bum deal because I really am aiming for equity at this point in our lives, but on the other hand the rent cash flows very nicely.

Thoughts? Thank you in advance!

[Wayne Brooks]

You would need to read to rent to own doc.s, and is it for both units, and talk to an attorney about enforceability, breach, termination of it, etc.