All Forum Posts by: Patti Robertson

LOL.  I wouldn't say @Zachary C. was completely correct.  You don't have to "set up an account" in order to advertise.  The program is officially called "Housing Choice Voucher Program", because the TENANT CHOOSES their house.  Once you select a tenant they will give you their RFTA (Request for Tenancy Approval) that was issued to you by their housing office.  The housing office puts the application through 2 financial checks in order to approve your requested rent amount.  1) Are you asking a "reasonible" rent compared to similar non-SEC 8 properties within a 5 mile radius?  2) Is the requested rent amount "affordable" for this perticular tenant? The tenant can only spend 30% of their income on housing - IE rent and utilities. In order to get the highest possible rent, I have to select a tenant that has income.  I like them to work at least 30 hours/week.  The greater the guesstimate for the utility expense, the lower your rent allowance will be.

I have over 100 SEC 8 tenants and have taught an Intro to SEC 8 class to our local investor clubs.  Here's a link to the PDF if you would like to take a look.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bn4rsifxvnpweld/SEC%208%20Training.pdf?dl=0Intro to SEC 8

You need to make sure the rent roll includes the following:

- current lease expiration date, current rents, beds/baths/sf, amount of deposit held, current ledger balance, and if any of them include a guaranteed subsidy like SEC 8

Also ask if there is any gas, and if the utilities are separately metered.  If there is any shared meter, ask what utilties are include with the rent amounts included with the rent roll.

Also ask if the building is in a flood zone.

Also ask if there are any house bills - like electric for exterior or lobby lighting, etc.

Also ask where the furnaces and hot water heaters are located.  I hate to have furnaces in basements or crawl spaces where they can flood, and I hate to have hot water heaters in attics where they can cause ceiling damage if they leak.

That's all I can think of for now!  Good luck!

We work with VASH and will continue to do so, but I have to tell you they are our most difficult, and most heart breaking tenants.  They are not for the faint of heart landlord.  We've had to evict two, which was not a decision we took lightly, because they lose their voucher if evicted.  The first one only paid $10 of his rent, which he never paid.  $10 wasn't worth evicting him over, so we let it slide until we figured he was selling drugs and/or sex out of his apartment.  The activity level going in and out was unreal.  One day when he was in the hospital he called and said he though someone had broken into his apartment.  He asked us to call the police and do an inspection. With the cop we found drug parafanalia and a vibrating ****** in a box (I didn't even know such a thing existed) sitting on the coffee table and a TV with the series number scraped off in an empty bedroom. There was no sign of break-in.

The second was already in a building we took over managing for an owner who was also a disabled Vet.  The owner had a soft spot for the disabled Vet tenant, and asked us to try to work with him. No one in the building could get along with him, and we one by one, replaced every single tenant.  Then we started getting complaint calls from both the new tenants and the single family home neighbors on each side of the 4 plex. Our Disabled Vet, I think, was paranoid, and he constantly harassed and threatened his neighbors. One by one they all got restraining orders on him. The cops were called so much they were citing him for being a nuisance.  He was thrown in and out of jail because of these offenses. He was also an alcoholic who obviously refused to take his meds.  Eventually he was in jail for a three month span during which time he failed to pay his portion of the rent and we were forced to evict him.

In both cases we were in constant contact with both the SEC 8 caseworker and the VASH caseworker.  The situations are just as heartbreaking for them, and we all did everything within out power to try to avoid the final outcome.  I'm not sharing these stories to discourage anyone from working with the VASH program.  We have had a few situations that have worked out well.  I'm just warning you that if you are at all wishy washy about being able to make decisions with your head instead of your heart, the VASH program may not be something you want to explore.  

Could you purchase something else for them to move to?  Or attend your local landlord/investor clubs to see if anyone has an option that isn't on the open market?

The easiest way to find a property manager who specialized in SEC 8 is to go on the SEC 8 website and look through the available rental lists.  There will be both owners and property managers on the list.  

Hi @Kate Johnson!  There are two investor clubs in Va Beach that I'd recommend.  The Tidewater Real Estate Investors Group and The Hampton Roads Landlord Association. The last time I mentioned them BP deleted my post and said it was illegal. I still can't figure out why that is.  If you google them you will easily find them.  

Just give them whatever notice is required in their current lease that their current lease will terminate in (probably 30) days, and they need to contact to start the process of creating a new lease for the new owner.  Tenants are often afraid when a property is sold though.  If you want to keep them, be careful not to spook them.  It would be better to call them first to see if you can get their cooperation quickly.  If they don't respond, send a letter.

There should be a section that outlines the Duties of the Agent. Have they violated any of their duties?  If so, you probably have grounds to fire for cause and could fight the paying of the fees.

You could get licensed in as many trades as you want to pass a test and pay licensing fees on. I hold licenses in multiple industries in my state. I'm not sure I would want the liability of inspection a house for a client I represented though.  Having a third party do the inspection reduces your liabity. 

Why not buy investment property "back home?"  You can hire a local property manager until you get back there.  The sooner you start, the sooner they will paid off.