All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Donley

@Matt R. I am across I-70 from you in St Louis and have a portfolio of Section 8 tenants.  We have a city Housing Authority and a County one and here, tenants can take their voucher to anywhere in St Louis city or county and stay with the same HA.  The tenants typically know this though - have you asked the tenant? 

Also our HAs here are easiest to get reach via email - have you tried that? And I am not afraid to HOUND the staff there (daily emails, wiht ever more urgent and CAPITAL letters with each day's email) if I'm not getting an answer.

@Tom Raddatz Thanks for the follow up!  I think it's worth the risk too and yes, I have had tenants lose their income and submit proof and their portion gets changed so it's a great program.  Good luck!

@Aj Parikh - awesome@  I have sold 2 properties on Roofstock and was also very happy with it.  A great and innovative service of OOS investors!

@Alexa S., I'm not in the DC area but I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties in the St. Louis Mo area.

I never pay for any of my tenant's utilities and generally this isn't a problem for the tenants because the Housing Authority takes utilities into account when figuring the amounts the tenant will be responsible for.

The reason I never pay for the utilities is that if I do, they aren't motivated to monitor their own usage and I have no control over high those bills could get.  

@James Cramer, I echo what Steve said.  I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties and teach investors to succeed in the niche.

In addition to the FMR guides, HA offices also use a "rent reasonableness" test to make sure the rent is in line with market rents.

My experience is that bedrooms rule when it comes to the HA setting the rents.  The amenities can help but only minimally and sometimes, the amenity causes more trouble than it's worth (ceiling fans and garbage disposals, for example).

There are typically areas where Section 8 rents are higher than market rents and other areas where they're lower.  As well as some that are almost identical to market rents.  

Ultimately, I think your best bet is to reach out to some landlords in your local market that are very familiar with Section 8 to determine what rents to expect where.

@Fiona Layne and @Christopher Cutter, feel free to reach out to me.  I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties, It's all I do and I love it.  I get higher rents, the income is guaranteed, the tenants stay longer than market tenants, there's an added layer of accountability due to the Housing Authority being involved and the high demand/low supply that occurs with Section 8 properties means I can be extremely choosy on who I pick as tenants.

Check with your local Housing Authority on their processes, each one operates somewhat similarly but there will be differences from one to the next.  I'd recommend advertising your property for rent on GoSection8.com to start.  

Make it your mission to understand the ins and outs of Section 8 and you can be successful.  I have some blogs about it on my page that may be helpful and like I said above, let me know if I can help further.

@Ryan Ross, I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties in the St Louis area.  I buy in 5 school districts where the houses are at least 900 square feet.  I chose the districts because I found that it is easiest to find & keep good tenants in school districts that are stronger.  I also like these areas because the rent to purchase ratios are good so I can get good cash flow but I also have some opportunity for appreciation.  

@Tom Raddatz, I have a portfolio of Section 8 properties in the St. Louis area.  I love the niche, it's all I do.  

I'm assuming the verbiage is coming from the HAP contract, which should be the same for all HA's but I can't find that phrase in mine.

In any case, I've never had a problem getting rent from the HA.  I have had an instance where the tenant didn't send in the required paperwork at renewal (the tenants have to do a re-certification each year where they send in house occupant info and updated income info) and the HA held up payment until it was received.  In that time, the Housing Authority told me that the tenant was responsible for the payments until the tenant sent in the paperwork).  I helped the tenant get the required paperwork sent in and the HA made up all the back rent.

The biggest opportunities for issues arise around changes, in my experience.  New tenants, rent increases and tenant/HAP portion changes at renewal are when things get missed and the payments can be wrong, delayed, etc.  But they're always fixed in the end, it just requires systems & diligence on my part to make sure everything is being paid as it should be.

Regarding the MtM lease, Section 8 requires that the initial lease term must be for 1 year. It can go to MtM after the first year but I just keep mine on annual leases that correspond with the tenant's annual recertification/renewal.  I do this because I think it stabilizes my portfolio to some degree &  we can submit rent increases 90 days prior to renewal to the Housing Authority.  By keeping the leases annual, my PM software reminds me when to submit those increases.  I might go with MtM if I didn't have Section 8 tenants and I was worried about payment.  But I'm not (I'm currently owed $0 in past due rent - the HA and my tenants are all paying).

Section 8 is a great way to go if you screen thoroughly and learn/master the processes of your local PHA.  Good luck and let me know if I can help further!

@Ken Gilb then I would still recommend the ones I listed.  They are great for refi's on rentals for LLCs and will be more willing to negotiate typically on terms if you have already built a relationship with them.

Coming here to support your choice to go with Section 8 - it's the most stable & profitable rental niche out there when done right!  Good luck and thanks for posting!