All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Donley

@Marisa Alvarez, I'm with most of the rest here.  Lease ends 3.31, she needs to be out, period. If she's not, she's in violation and that needs to be reported to the Housing Authority. Let her know this - putting her voucher at risk should be a big motivator for her.

People are resourceful, I'm sure she'll figure something out but even if she doesn't, that's not your concern.

P.S. I always blame the process.  I say, "I understand. Our process is INSERT WHATEVER YOU'RE DEALING WITH HERE and we have to stick to it so that we're treating everyone the same." 

So for instance, "I understand your situation.  But our process is that tenants have to be out when the lease ends and if they're not, our process is to..."

I do this because I am trying to keep a decent relationship with the tenant to make things easier/less dramatic/emotional. It works very well.  

@Greg M., Under federal housing law, it is legal to not take Section 8 because there isn't a provision prohibiting discrimination based on source of income.

But yes, some municipalities/counties/states have laws against it.  In these instances, you must accept Section 8 and you also can't do what I do, which is to ONLY take Section 8.

@Shaun Robinson, there's a lively discussion going on here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/... on Section 8.  

I just answered at length about why I love it and gave some info on screening to your question.  You'll also get the cons from some folks who don't like it, so you can decide for yourself which way to go.  

@James York one of the best ways to get very passionate responses from landlords is to ask what they think about Section 8!  Because I just can't help myself, I'm going to give you 2 sides.  

I love the program.  I'm in B and C neighborhoods and it's all I do.  I have good tenants who take care of my properties, pay their rent/utility portion on time and are easy to deal with.  Most of them can and do take care of small issues as well. It's not perfect but I have yet to hear an honest landlord with any decent size portfolio not selling something who tells me that their entire tenant pool and rental business is perfect.

A few things make me like the program other than the guaranteed rent that everyone talks about - 1. In my area, I get equal to or slightly above market rents for my properties.   2.  Long tenancies - generally Section 8 tenants stay longer 3. Housing authority acts as additional layer of accountability (because I know how to utilize them correctly) and 4. Supply and demand mean I get a ton of interest very quickly and I'm able to pick the best Section 8 tenants out there.   There are good ones, I promise.

I cringe when people lump all Section 8 tenants together because in my experience, they are not the same, just as with any other people group.

Screening is critical, as it always is in property management.  I require at least 1x the monthly rent in income and I do a home visit at their current residence as the last piece of their screening process (I learned this from a local investor who has over 100 doors and doesn't take Section 8).  In addition to an otherwise very thorough process, I believe these 2 things have helped me find and keep great tenants.

But, I say all the time - this program isn't for everyone.  If government bureaucracy makes you nuts, steer clear.  You will have more paperwork, especially upfront than with market tenants.  

If you're in an area with a Housing Authority that isn't well run, I imagine that would make me steer clear as well.  

Also, here in St Louis, if you're in an A area, you're going to get under market rent so I wouldn't do it there (which is unfortunate because if we're trying to lift all boats, I would think that allowing people to live wherever they want instead of keeping them in lower income areas would be important but alas, I don't set the rules).

@Wayne Smith, I'm not worried about credit score.   I look to see if they owe money to utility companies (must be paid off before I'll approve them) and for the last 24 months, how has their pay history been on their accounts (credit cards, auto loans, etc.).  I'm not so worried about medical debt and student debt.

I also look to see if there are evictions, monies owed to prior landlords, recent bankrupcties.  

@John Smith, I own 4 properties in Ferguson and sold one I owned last year in Forestwood after I had a major fire at that property.  All have Section 8 tenants in them.

I love Ferguson and I love the Forestwood area.  I don't think it's a bad area of Ferguson.   Be sure it's not in a flood plain though - there is a creek that runs close to there so some of the houses are in the flood plain.

Without running comps and without seeing the finishes and knowing the other details of the deal/house, I can't say for sure if your price is good or not.  I was getting ready to refinance my property, which was a 3/1 and 960 sf when the fire happened so I never had it appraised.

I do have a 3/1 1365 sf in Ferguson that appraised last year for $95K.  It's not in the same neighborhood but same town and school district.

When I run comps, I try to run in same subdivision for the last 12 months (but that's a really long time right now given how fast the market is appreciating) and look for similar sizes/bedrooms/finishes to determine the value. If I can't find at least one or two similar to mine in those criteria, I'll go up to a mile out as long as I'm in the same school district and municipality.

@Darrell B., I agree with Chandler and Jonathan.  I'm local to StL and buy in north St Louis county.  Properties aren't as old so less repairs and maintenance typically.

Anyway, I think you can do better with a different deal in south St Louis especially if it's in some of the not as great areas.

@Kenny Lewis, can you post the link or reference of where you saw/heard this?  As @Will Fraser said, how much of the rent Section 8 pays is income based so will be different from tenant to tenant.

@Christopher Freeman that makes sense.  This would be a question I'd ask my accountant.

@Jerell DeCaille Hi! Welcome to REI in St. Louis.

AS @John Whitfield indicated, there are approximately a million meetups here.

FasterHouse Buyers Club is actually meeting in person, you can find them online.  Core Properties has one, virtual right now.  Southside investment club is another, I'm not sure if they're meeting right now.  Master Investors Tribe is doing virtual only I think.

There are a bunch of others but those are the 4 I attend more often. I'd recommend joining all the STL REI Facebook pages you can find (there's a bunch of those too) and post your question there - you'll get lots of answers.

I'm very active in the StL REI community so let me know if I can help in any way.