All Forum Posts by: Alyssa Wright

Section 8 can be a great way to fill a unit rather quickly as well as generate income! 

I am not sure on Florida, but typically Section 8 won't do a full inspection until you have found a tenant for the property. In Allegheny county, you can apply to be a preferred owner where you can get priority scheduling for inspections and even request pre-inspections of a property. It's also definitely worth your while to try to build a relationship with the Section 8 reps' as you can also get referrals that way. 

I would recommend either calling them up or going to the website and checking out the general process for landlords as well as requesting an inspection checklist so you already know what they're going to be looking for. 

 I completely agree! 

It's still worth noting as well that just because you're friends with someone doesn't mean you should skip out on any contracts or paperwork either to keep everyone happy and protected 

I don't have any experience with TurboTenant, but I do actively use Avail. I get tons of leads here on a daily basis with most if not all of them being responsive. 

Couldn't agree more! 

Sure the process takes a bit longer with the extra paperwork but overall, it's a very simple process. I think a lot of the issue comes with the negative stigma that people have about Section 8 and the people on it. 

There's definitely a few things you could do here! 

You could do cash for keys, to just end the lease mutually, or even see if they were interested in doing a payment plan for the rest of their lease. 

I would, however, advise that you have your PM reach out to the tenant with whatever options you want to present. Maybe even have them throw in the communication that tenants are to solely contact the PM and not the owner. 

I just sent you a message as well, but I've done my fair share of work with Section 8 as well as work with a good amount of agents who also have Section 8 background. I'd be answer to give you any advice/suggestions you'd need! 

It's ALWAYS a good idea to contact the property management for reference. Recommendation letters would be fine as well, but personally, I think talking to them over the phone is more ideal as it's easier to get answers and just a better understanding of the tenant. 

You should be 100% fine as long as you do the proper research into your agents, pm's, etc... Most of the investors that other agents I work with are out-of-state and they've had no problems on either end! 

The photos look amazing, which is great cause that's the first thing people see! My recommendations would be to re-evaluate the price point and make sure it matches other properties nearby. There's also a few things you could do to try and improve the description itself. I've found that adding local neighborhoods and roadways and giving a brief overview of requirements/availability can really help attract people to a listing. Maybe try a few different description formats across your listing sites and see if a certain type gets you any additional leads?