You are a teacher from California looking to invest in states that have a high demand for section 8 housing and asked some suggestions for good states to invest.I am a retired teacher myself and all of my tenants are section 8.I personally love section 8 tenants and proving safe and affordable housing for them.I am in Michigan.

Thanks all for the responses.

Quote from @Stuart Wilson: I served 21 years and wish I had held onto all the houses I bought.

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

P&I payment: $716Origination Fee: $4500Underwriting fee: $1395 Hi Su,Yes, with the DSCR programs readily available today, I would say all of these are high.

The right loan officer can answer all your questions above!

FYI for all real estate questions regarding the Columbus market I recommend @jimmylieu - he is the BEST! 

I wanting to make a career change and was curious if it makes sense to do all , if not majority of the renovations and pay myself instead of paying contractors?

I personally would shy away from All State and State Farm.

Thanks all for advice.