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So I'm considering on buying a multi family soon and renting out both units to bring in some extra income... does anyone know about renting out to section 8 housing? headache? easy?
The biggest con I found was inspectors checking the property very thoroughly... the pro though is the consistent payments and not having to worry about non payments basically..
I have close friends who've gone the Section 8 route with mixed (but mostly negative) experience.
At the risk of over-generalizing (and yet, the generalization is *generally* quite accurate), people in subsidized housing tend to have a different mindset towards the care of their homes than do the people who pay every dollar of their rent (or mortgages) themselves; that being, they really DON'T care.
There's a reason why kitchen appliances, for instance, are mandated by law to be replaced far before the end of their usual lifetimes; it's because Section 8 tenants abuse and beat the hell out of them.
Ditto for the fixtures, doors, toilets, bathtubs, light switches, and just about everything else -- which is the reason behind the more thorough (and frequent) inspections.
So in exchange for those guaranteed checks from the government, you can expect:
-- considerably more wear and tear on your property
-- because of a lack of a stable employment situation with your tenants, more noise and general "disturbance" from domestic disputes (not to mention visits from the police).
And I wouldn't want to live in one of the units in the house as the landlord if you're planning on going Section 8, unless you don't mind making your home smack in the middle all this.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NYCTelevisionWriter
I have close friends who've gone the Section 8 route with mixed (but mostly negative) experience.
At the risk of over-generalizing (and yet, the generalization is *generally* quite accurate), people in subsidized housing tend to have a different mindset towards the care of their homes than do the people who pay every dollar of their rent (or mortgages) themselves; that being, they really DON'T care.
There's a reason why kitchen appliances, for instance, are mandated by law to be replaced far before the end of their usual lifetimes; it's because Section 8 tenants abuse and beat the hell out of them.
Ditto for the fixtures, doors, toilets, bathtubs, light switches, and just about everything else -- which is the reason behind the more thorough (and frequent) inspections.
So in exchange for those guaranteed checks from the government, you can expect:
-- considerably more wear and tear on your property
-- because of a lack of a stable employment situation with your tenants, more noise and general "disturbance" from domestic disputes (not to mention visits from the police).
And I wouldn't want to live in one of the units in the house as the landlord if you're planning on going Section 8, unless you don't mind making your home smack in the middle all this.
Good luck.
Couldn't agree more. Every time we had to go to section 8 housing for a call it was terrible. They don't care about the place at all.
If the Section 8 tenant is an elderly person, I doubt one would have the problems mentioned above as usually they have SSI as well as Section 8 and wouldn't necessarily being abusing the property or appliances.
Elderly people are the exception. But they are not the bulk of the Section 8 tenant stock. The other kind are.
The problem is, once you're approved to accept Section 8 and you get "the other kind" coming to you with their vouchers, it would then be a violation of most state laws to turn them down.
Lots of landlords never receive the tenants portion of the rent. The tenants generally move every year or two, after they have damaged the apartment. It's definitely not a quick, easy buck.
I'd only consider it if I was planning to gut renovate the entire apartment in a few years after they moved out anyway. Even then its still a huge gamble. Section 8 really is not worth it. These people will destroy your property and give you endless headaches.
I've seen several section 8 houses in my area get drug busts by cops over the years. One house still has a huge dent on the front door from the swat team. Recently, one section 8 neighbor had an old car leaking anti-freeze all over their driveway. Of course they wouldn't do anything about it and as a result we believe it may have killed our neighbors dog who one time came and licked it. We finally had to bark at the landlord of that house to force them to fix it.
Rent your apartment out to a working market rate tenant who has good credit, income, and can afford the rent. This is NYC, there is no shortage of people searching for apartments. If you price it well you should find someone in no time.
Last edited by fmatthew5876; 01-14-2015 at 07:17 AM..
why would anyone want to rent to section 8?, is beyond me.
Local economies turn down. Neighborhoods decline. All of a sudden a piece of property that's been in your family for two generations has had the area around it turn to crap. And now "market rate" people wouldn't dream of living there.
Sometimes Section 8 tenants are the ONLY tenants you can get.
Can someone clarify if the OP lives in a section 8 apartment and wants to buy a house to live in and then rent out the section 8 apartment once he/she moves into the new house they purchased? They want to keep the section 8 apartment and rent it out as additional income?
That is what the post seems to say, but I'm a bit unclear.
I didn't know in section 8 housing that inspectors come in. When they come in, don't they ask for ID to confirm the person they are inspecting is indeed the person on the lease?
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