All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Donley

@Tim Siocheng, you should definitely be receiving payment by now.  It will come by ACH, not check (you should've sent in direct deposit docs with the others).

If I were in your shoes, I would email the caseworker, the bookkeeper and the supervisor daily until I get a response with a clear resolution.  I would put as the subject line: PAYMENT NOT RECEIVED/ IMMEDIATE RESPONSE NEEDED with the tenant name & address at the end.

@Lokesh C. I would file immediately.  Yes there's a moratorium but only if they sign the COVID form and that ends 12.31.  Our sheriffs won't execute the evictions here but our attorneys are still recommending to file to motivate the tenant to start paying AND get in line for when the moratoriums are lifted.  The longer you wait, the longer it will be until you are able to take action.

I think it's ridiculous that the PM has allowed this to go on so long.  For my business, once you're 30 days late, we file.  We make that clear at lease signing.  

There are also a lot of charities helping people pay rent right now so check into that as well.  Good luck.

@Harvey Levin, you beat me to it!  I'm a Section 8 landlord in St. Louis and yes, a lot of the info here is wrong (I'm assuming for IHA as well).

@Ryan Horan, I'm going to try to answer everything in your post and maybe even a few items you didn't ask for.  Harvey, please correct me if I'm wrong specifically for IHA.

I recommend closing on properties with Section 8 tenants around the 2nd of the month if possible.  This allows you to get most of the month's rents through the settlement and gives you plenty of time to get the new ownership paperwork in place with the HA.

There is a simple packet of paperwork to change ownership - I found it quickly here: https://indyhousing.org/housin...

You simply have to fill it out and send it in based on the instructions and the payments start coming to you.  I submit this paperwork ASAP following the sale & request that all payments to the previous owner be stopped (here, by email) and follow up daily until I have been given confirmation that it's been processed.

You don't have to "apply" to become an S8 landlord.  However, Indy may have some sort of class or something (the HA used to do that here but did away with it due to COVID).  

If the payments do go to the previous landlord after the sale, immediately notify the HA.  As long as you have done your part, they will make those payments back up (and require the previous owner to pay them back).

Each HA has their own rules around rent increases & timelines but they are typically not hard to get if you are under market and rents haven't been raised in a long time.  Check with a local successful Section 8 landlord to get an idea of what you can expect there.

I don't love the $99 security deposit but for me, if the tenants are good and the rents can be raised, it wouldn't be worth kicking them out over.  I might see about collecting more but I might not. Not sure on that one.

The initial lease has to be for 12 months.  After that, it is up to you how long the lease is for and the HA will follow it.  So you're in the drivers seat if it's month to month.  You can give proper notice to have them leave, sign a long lease, etc.  However, the HA evaluates the tenant annually (called the recertification) and that is at or around the time of the initial lease renewal.  That date won't change no  matter what happens with the lease.

You can collect rent from S8 as long as they tenants are living there and you haven't signed a notice to vacate and sent to the HA (required at the end of the lease).  And you're following the S8 rules, which are typically easy to follow.

I have found that most landlords aren't very good with Section 8 so I don't expect a realtor to be :).

I'd recommend requesting the most recent Notice of Change (the document that lays out the amount of rent and how much the HA and tenant pays), which the landlord should have.  It will also tell the recert dates.  Then make sure that the ledgers you're getting match those amounts (it's easiest if the PM or landlord keeps a separate ledger for tenant and HA but a lot do not and it can take some detective work to decipher which payments are which).

Section 8 is a great program when executed well.  A lot of landlords and PMs don't like it because it is some additional paperwork and it's very process oriented.  I think the positives far outweigh the negatives.  I have some blogs here on BP that may give you more insight if you're looking for more.  

Good luck!

@Tyler Kortz Ive had this issue as well and my big thing was that I didn’t want to be picking up rent and I don’t like “it’s in the mail” as a reason the rent is late.

In addition to the other suggestions, check out Schedule My Rent. You set up a lease online and tenants can pay in cash at Moneygram (I think) locations and the money gets transferred to you.

PayNearMe is a bother similar option but I think it’s more expensive.

@Michael Rodriguez I love that you're looking into this model.

I would echo what others have said regarding rents and what you're looking for - landlords in the area who are SUCCESSFUL with Section 8.  They should be able to give you an idea of rents.

The Housing Authorities use FMR but they also use rent reasonableness - essentially, looking at comps to determine market rents and then they are supposed to match those up to FMR guidelines. In reality, what sometimes happens is that there are pockets where rents run higher for some reason and those are great spots to buy of course. But it's hard to determine where those are without some on the ground experience and knowledge.

In terms of finding tenants, I don't expect that will be difficult - I post only to gosection8.com and get a lot of interest.  10 showings per day type interest.  

What I don't know is the market for larger rentals in your area/ following Joe's model.  I get alot of interest from 4 bedroom voucher holders for my larger 3 bedroom units but I don't get interest from anyone with more bedrooms than that.  And it may be hard to determine interest from someone on the ground because very very few peopel are following that model.

Maybe reach out to the Housing Authorities in your area and find someone who will talk to you for a bit around the number of people with larger vouchers, supply of those houses, what the rules are for # of kids per bedroom, etc.  

Good luck! 

@Bennett Schwartz Hi!  I don't have any referrals but I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties and teach other landlords to succeed in the niche.

I'm replying because I wrote a blog post a while back about picking a PM for Section 8 properties, linked below. I did this after seeing a lot of Section 8 properties poorly managed by PMs and not wanting other landlords to suffer than same. Hopefully it helps you!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

@Andrew White, I'm a St. Louis investor and have a portfolio of SFH in B and C neighborhoods in north St. Louis County. All of my tenants are on Section 8, a program I love. I get higher rents, I am owed $0 in rent and my tenants stay longer. You can get great tenants in this segment but you have to screen meticulously. Section 8 can be more management intensive if you don't know what you're doing.

I don't know much about the Illinois side but in general, what everyone has said here is correct.  You can buy $30K to $50K properties throughout the St. Louis area in C- and D neighborhoods all day long though.  I find that it's harder to keep tenants in lower rated school districts so I have transitioned to better districts.

From what I hear about Illinois, a couple things to be aware of - higher property taxes than Missouri and more intensive rental occupancy inspections.

Good luck!

@Shea Spinelli, I'm pretty sure you have to have 50 units minimum for Appfolio.

I use RentecDirect now (I have 26 units) and look forward to the day when I can transition!

@Faisal Mohamed I've inherited a lot of Section 8 tenants. 

Generally speaking, I like to close around the 2nd of the month - that way you get almost all of the month's rent through the settlement and you have almost a month to get everything situated with the housing authority.

I also want to get either the most recent Notice of Change or HAP contract from the current owner or Housing Authority.  This tells you what dates the annual recertification are (important probably for rental increases) and the split of how much the tenant pays and how much the Housing Authority pays.

Check with the housing authority and find out their process for changing owners.  It's probably a little paperwork.  Then stay on them until you get confirmation that the rents will be sent to you.

If you don't get paid the first month, don't panic, just contact the Housing Authority again.  They will fix the error and pay you back, it may just take a little while.

Good luck.

I'm a Section 8 landlord in St. Louis, it's the only thing I do.  

I post my properties to gosection8.com only and we get a TON of interest from there. For instance, the last property I put out was a 3/1.5 and I had 70 showings and 9 applications in 7 days. 

A few tips for advertising on there:

1. I pay for the subscription but if I only had a couple properties, I might not. Or at least I would test it out for a week or so to see if I get enough interest without paying for the membership.
2. I put as the first line of the listing: Section 8 only accepted for this ....
3. If you do pay for the membership, GoSection8 will syndicate to other sites, including Zillow. 
4. I get professional photos done (costs me $80) and use the best interior photo I have as the thumbnail/first pic.  You would be amazed at how much better it makes your property look than 99% of the other properties advertised.
5. With the subscription, you can "boost" your listing daily to put it at the top of the listings and I do this.
6. I use GoSection.com in tandem with self showing through ShowMojo and it works great.  Once I put the property out for lease, the showing through applications is completely automated.  
7. Good luck!