All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Donley

Luciano's given you good advice.  Every Housing Authority operates differently (silly) so yours will have their own process and timeline for rent increases.  Hopefully it's published on their website but if not, you can call and request the info.

Get that ownership transfer paperwork in ASAP - it takes our HAs here longer than it should (in my opinion) to get that task completed.  I always request confirmation of receipt when I send the paperwork and request that the HA stop payment to the prior owner.  I keep emailing until I get these 2 confirmations in writing so that I have something to go on if it doesn't get done correctly.

But if they end up paying the prior owner again, they should fix their mistake and pay back rent once you're set up.

Donald, I have bought a lot of properties with tenants in them.  Both market and S8.  Unfortunately, probably 80% of them are tenants I wouldn't have approved.  Maybe more. 

The problem is that what one landlord calls a great tenant may not be for the other landlord and/or the seller could be lying. 

The guarantees of S8 are great and I still buy properties with S8 tenants in them but I assume there will be issues that I wouldn't have if I had picked the tenants using my system.  But some of those tenants stay for years so it's up to you on what you want to take on.

I'm a Section 8 specialist, here's what I do and have done in the past.

Notifytenants - we'll no longer pick up rent.  Period.

Here are your options:

1. Mail a money order

2. Pay online through the tenant portal (ACH or debit card)

3. Pay in cash at a Moneygram location (for this option, I set up an account with Schedule My Rent - you can find them online.  Costs $2 per transaction for you, $5 or so for tenant).

Late fees apply per the lease and is based on when we receive the rent (important if they're mailing a MO). 

Reminder texts about unpaid rent go out on the 5th, statement of past due amounts gets emailed to caseworker and tenant on the 20th, evictions are filed on the 1st of the next month if rent is unpaid.

I've never had to file an eviction on a Section 8 tenant with this system.

@Jarrett Mel Williams, I agree with the opinions you have here.  I specialize in Section 8 and have good tenants, paid rents and a portfolio that's easy to manage. I like the program a lot.

The key to doing S8 well comes down to 2 things - meticulous tenant screening and being good at managing details.  How easy the local Housing Authority is to deal with, which varies widely across the country, will also impact the ease of management.  That isn't something anyone other than someone in the local market who is successful with Section 8 can answer.

Here's the challenge I see with the deal - inherited tenants.  I have inherited a lot of tenants, both market and Section 8, and almost all of them are tenants I wouldn't have approved through my screening process. I still buy tenanted properties but now I expect to deal with headaches that I wouldn't have to if they were "my" tenants."  So I always figure that in.

Peter, you'll want to reach out to your local Housing Authority to get their steps. 

Section 8 is federally funded but locally administered so the exact process will vary some from one county to the next.

Generally though, you will advertise your unit and accept anyone who calls that has a Housing Choice Voucher.  Screen meticulously as you always do (the process must be the same for S8 applicants as for market ones with just a few variations for income).

Once you accept an applicant with a voucher, there will be paperwork to complete that the applicant has from Section 8.  That gets turned into the S8 office, S8 office does the inspection, sets rent with you and then you/tenant will get authorization to move in.

This is a high level overview of the big bucket items and the process - check with your local Housing Authority for their exact process.

I am always a bit deflated to see posts like this.

Like the others have mentioned, there are good and bad tenants. Market and Section 8.

I have almost all Section 8 tenants and most are very good tenants.  Rent comes in like clockwork, they take care of the property and if issues arise, we discuss, they fix, done.

Most work and/or have income and pay a portion of the rent. 

I find when people dislike their Section 8 tenants, it's because they aren't screening well.  I have inherited some tenants and still have some tenants that I chose in my early landlording days that aren't great (market and Section 8).  But had I screened them myself (inherited tenants) or better (from my early days before I had a strong screening system down), I wouldn't have rented to them.

@Account ClosedLike the other responses, I cringe when people equate Section 8 with slumlording.

I'm a Section 8 specialist and absolutely not a slumlord.  I've attached a photo of one of my Section 8 properties prior to tenant move in.  This is admittedly one of my nicest properties but we rehabbed it to fit the area.  

In general I have good tenants who care for their property and are easy to work with.  One of our strategies to attract the best S8 tenants out there is to rehab our properties to be one of the nicest in the neighborhood and it works very well.

Like @Patti Robertson said, most S8 inspectors won't let you have awful properties.  But you can repair/rehab to just get by and my experience is that the  nicer the property, the easier it is to attract good tenants and the crummier the property, the harder it is to attract good tenants.  So you can choose the route you want to go.

Bottom line, you can do Section 8 successfully without being a slumlord.  You must (as always) screen meticulously AND you need someone on your team who is detail & process oriented.  If you don't have this person, Section 8 gets tough to manage well.

Don't be a slumlord, Section 8 or not.  

@Yacoub Shack, you've got some really good pros and cons here so I won't rehash those.  

In my mind, doing Section 8 well on the landlords part comes down to 2 main things - being an excellent screener (have a solid, lengthy, clear process for screening for ALL tenants and be sure to include a home visit to their current residence as the last piece of the screening) and how good you or your property manager is at handling details and processes.  Section 8 can be great if you have great tenants and are able to handle paperwork and management easily.

Unfortunately, a very large number of landlords and PMs are not great at either and so those folks generally end up hating Section 8.

As the others have mentioned, how well run your local Housing Authority will also have a huge impact.  That is something I would strongly recommend you find some successful local Section 8 landlords to discuss with as the voucher program is administered locally so isn't something an outsider can tell you.

Good luck!

Pamela, generally if you're on a month to month, you only need to give the amount of notice required by law in your state.  There may be a law specific to Section 8/low income housing in your local area as this can vary.

I would email and call the tenant's caseworker (over and over until I get an accurate response) to see if there is anything different about this situation.  You can ask for the HAP contract and most recent lease amendment, both of which are documents the Housing Authority should have.

The other issue is practicality - if your area is like most across the country, there is a huge shortage of housing where the landlord will take the voucher so what this means is that it is often difficult for the tenant to find a new place quickly.  Here, tenants really need at  least 60 days minimum to find, get approved for and then get Housing Approval to move into a new place.  

I would hire a real estate lawyer if I were in your shoes.  Find one who only practices landlord/tenant (I hear horror stories of people hiring an attorney they know who doesn't practice regularly in L/T and charges them enormous amounts of money because they're learning on the client's dime).