All Forum Posts by: Lisa S.

Hi @Brett Robison,

Exciting times with your first rental property. Congratulations to you and your wife!

I would recommend first to sit down with your property management company and set clear criteria and qualifications for them to work from when processing applications.

Employment: You should base it solely on do they have proper documentation to present with the application that reflects their true income and meet the financial qualification. Our qualification is 3x the rent net income. We do accept offer letters on letterhead followed up with a phone call verifying through employer.

Criminal Background: Our qualification for criminal history is pretty strict. We do not allow any criminal history. It does not have to be that strict but again determine what your qualifications are so you can base the decision on your criteria.

Creating the criteria and qualifications will help build the blueprint for the application process of what type of qualified tenants you want to approve for your rental property. Base it on facts never emotions.

I understand desiring to occupy as soon as possible. My experience is it is worth the wait to find qualified tenants to save the future headaches and possibly expenses then taking a chance just to occupy the property. It's your investment so invest wisely. 

Hope this helps!

Hi @Kristina Inglis,

I manage over 10+ Section 8 tenants and have come across many scenarios. If you already know tenants cannot afford the full rent without the assistance it would be best to serve them a lease termination notice (according to what your lease agreement states). Our lease states we can terminate a lease as long as we provide 60 day notice to the tenants. 

Serving a 60 day notice is a less aggressive approach to try to get the tenants to vacate the home without going through eviction. If they do not abide by the 60 day notice lease termination then unfortunately you will have to start the dispossessory process.

I would encourage to spend more time and energy finding a tenant that qualifies and is financially stable to pay the rent so you are receiving the full revenue for your investment. 

Hope this helps!

Hi @Torrance Jones,

I would encourage you to contact the inspection department and request for a copy of the checklist that the inspector will use for inspection day. In Georgia, they provide us with a checklist.

This will allow you to be proactive in knowing exactly what the inspector will be looking for and make repairs if needed before inspection.

If home does not pass inspection Section 8 will send the list of items that need attention or repair and will reschedule a 2nd inspection.

Hope this helps!

Hi @Meleana Tuimoala,

One lease with all tenant signatures. When submitting payment have the tenants pay in one payment form. 

This saves you time and energy from not having to worry about partial payment for rent or chasing after a portion of the rent that one tenant may have not paid on time. 

Hope this helps!

@DamasoBautista

You're welcome! Thank you for the vote. Greatly appreciated.

@Thien Tran,

You're welcome! 

It is case by case. I have some Section 8 tenants that the government pays the entire rent. Then I have some Section 8 tenants that they have their portion to pay. The percentage of what the assistance of rent will be all depends on the tenant household income. 

Hey @ThienTran,

I'm in Georgia and do not have any experience how your state is with Section 8 tenants but I can give you a little background in my experience with renting to Section 8 tenants.

I agree with @Curt Davis you do want to make sure that the voucher covers the full rental amount and it is the allowable size of the home. Also, request the applicant provides proof of what their rental voucher amount allowance is.

It is always a great idea while processing the application to reach out to their case worker confirming all information. Share with the case worker the applicant name, property address, rental amount, and size of home. Most case workers will confirm or share with you that their voucher does or does not cover it.

If the Section 8 application is approved by your application criteria, in Georgia the case worker will then schedule for a property inspection. The home must pass the inspection per their guidelines for tenant to move in and payments to begin. They will also ask for a copy of the signed lease agreement.

There are yearly inspections. In order for payments to continue the home must pass inspections. If it does not pass there is a time frame to correct the items. If not corrected during that time frame payments will not continue nor do they back pay if items are corrected after the time frame. They just reschedule an inspection and pick back up with rental payments.

Definitely want to make sure your lease agreement is clear on what the tenant responsibilities are with maintaining the home so you are not stuck with fixing all the items the inspector may discover at time of yearly inspections. Put some of the responsibilities on the tenant. 

In some situations the tenant may be responsible for their own portion. For example: Rental amount $1250. Tenant is responsible for $450 and the assistance of the program will pay the rest. 

With Section 8 tenants there is just a little more foot work in getting them approved and the yearly inspections. I have had great Section 8 tenants and I have had not so great Section 8 tenants. 

As far as eviction, in Georgia it is no different than evicting a tenant without government assistance. The steps are the same. Most likely you will be filing dispossessory on the tenant for not paying their portion because for the most part government assistance pays the rent and on time. 

It is really just a decision if you would like to rent to Section 8 tenants and follow their guidelines. Definitely take some time to research the process and if it is something you are interested in doing...Dive in. If after trying and it is something you feel is not really your lane, you can choose not to rent to Section 8 tenants in the future. Totally up to you. You never know until you try.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Hey @Cameron Riley,

My apologies for seeing your post late. I encourage you that when you receive multiple applications maybe have a generic email reply message. 

Generic Reply: Thank you for submitting your application for (property address). We receive multiple applications at a time. We will approve the application who best meets our qualifications criteria and submits security deposit first. Once all applications are processed you will receive an application result approved or denied.  

This way they are informed from the beginning what to expect. Then when they receive the approval or denied result you have already set the tone as to how the application process is conducted. 

Also, if you have multiple strong applicants a determining factor could simply be the first applicant who pays the deposit first is the one gets to rent the home. 

Email Result: Your application has been processed. Regretfully, we have rented to another applicant who best meets our qualifications/criteria. Thank you again and best of luck in your home search.

When approving an application try not to allow the deciding factor to be based on emotions always stick to the application criteria. People knowing her in the neighborhood is great but should not be a determining factor if she is approved or denied. The decision should always be based on the application criteria. This way you treat every applicant fairly. 

Hope all works out for you!

Hi @Cameron Riley,

Professionalism is definitely the right way to go! I would encourage to Google search: "Free Tenant Application Rejection Letter Template" and choose the one that best suits your application process.

This template list all the reasons why an applicant would be denied. You simply download template, choose the reason, and send the denial letter attached in an email. This way you have a professional formal consistent way of denying applicants. 

Hope this helps!

Hi @Kevin Christensen,

I have never been in your situation but I am a wife of a husband who has his goals that he is passionate and determined to make happen. 

As a wife and a mother I understand where your wife is coming from but completely understand where you are coming from with your long term goals. 

I believe if you can show her you guys can still enjoy the money from the hard work, have the family time, enjoy the children, and make the memories while you work on your long term wealth she will see that she can still have what her heart so desires. 

It may take some brainstorming on how to find the blueprint of balance of everything but I believe you can do it. Then wife is still happy and you get to fulfill your long term goals. Who knows she may even jump on board. Stay optimistic.

Hope this helps and enjoy making it happen!