Section 8 experiences (tenants, agent, settlement, housing)

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

I just finished with the worse tenant possible, are all section 8 people parasites and the scum of the earth? This person destroyed my apartment and had caused me over 10 000 dollars in money. Every week he would call and say that something was broken, yeah I wonder who broke itHe has also made an insurance claim for falling on his head inside the apartment. He made a hole and then blaimed it on me and the worse thing is that the insurance company is backing away from supporting me. In fact they were in his favor saying I was a lousy landlord. But when the agent went and saw that it wasn't water damage. The insurance changed it's mind. Mind you they are still debating whether to give this scum bag some money for his pain. And that will really **** me off if they give him money.

[dlh891]

Oh, the nightmare that is Section 8!

I had a realtor talk me into that ONCE, never, ever,ever again. I still can't talk about it and it was five years ago. A truly horrible experience.

[CharlotteAgent]

If you report them to the housing authority they could loose there assistance.

Not all section 8 tenants are this way.

[jersey2nm]

Our first tenant was section 8. 11 years later, I still can't believe the filth this woman lived in. Part of the reason I find it hard to believe is because she was a home health aide caring for the elderly. YIKES!!! She was a total SLOB. When she was vacating the premises, (we threatened her with eviction because we were receiving violation notices from the condo assn.) she wasn't there but her mother and brother were. Her plan was to leave behind all the broken crap she didn't want. We made an itemized list and included "removal of tenant's personal belongings" and her mother went off on me. I politely told her mother, if you want to continue cleaning up after your daughter, that's your choice, if you want me to clean up after your daughter, it will cost you. I'm not your maid. As it turned out, we gave back the security too soon. There was more damage. The kitchen floor was so black. After several moppings, we discovered that the floor was marred down to the subfloor. Yes, you couldn't see the tar due to the filth. Apparently, she had been dragging around her kitchen chairs to reach the cabinets. The chair legs did not have protective caps on the legs so it was like scraping the floor with nails. Again, it was not noticable until we mopped several times - that's how black it was. The stove, it would have been cheaper to replace it because I can't tell you how many hours I spent with a paint scraper removing grease. Keep in mind, this woman takes care of the elderly. Did we learn our lesson? No, the next tenant was section 8. Actually, she was good but upon vacating the premises, we gave her the security too soon as well. But we were planning on removing the carpeting anyway just not immediately due to the cat smell (you know the cat, the one that's been visiting for 8 years). No more tenants. We sold the place and are happy we did.

[jersey2nm]

Originally Posted by CharlotteAgent

If you report them to the housing authority they could loose there assistance.

My experience with the 2 different section 8 tenants was also an experience with 2 different section 8 housing authority agencies. Basically, the bad tenant also had the bad section 8 agent. I even knew this agent personally. He was rather nice to me when we were considering her as a tenant but once she got in there, it was a different story. He just didn't care about his job. I should have known better. The other agent, from another town, told me if he had a place he would rent it to her. He explained his job and what it meant to him to do his job. Tenant 2 stayed for 9 - 10 years and there was less for us to do when she moved out as compared to tenant 1 who was there for one year and everything was newer. If I had another place to rent, I would consider working with the section 8 agent who placed tenant 2 and would run for the hills if I heard from anyone from the other agency.

[Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights]

Originally Posted by CharlotteAgent

If you report them to the housing authority they could loose there assistance.

Not all section 8 tenants are this way.

We did but they haven't stopped given them assistance. They only said they would stop if the insurance gave them a settlement.
And I know not all are like that. I just don't like the fact that these people are living off our tax dollars and how this family was very mean not only to us but towards all the tenants. We had to drive there every week also to turn back on the water because they would shut off the water to the other tenants.

[Paula Lynn]

You roll the dice with any tenant - whether they're Section 8 or not. Some people abuse the sytem and the people who should be on the program (elderly and low income) have to wait 2 years+ on the waiting list.

[CharlotteAgent]

Originally Posted by Mexi-in-Arlington-Heights

We did but they haven't stopped given them assistance. They only said they would stop if the insurance gave them a settlement.
And I know not all are like that. I just don't like the fact that these people are living off our tax dollars and how this family was very mean not only to us but towards all the tenants. We had to drive there every week also to turn back on the water because they would shut off the water to the other tenants.

Well that's one of the reasons I only buy single family homes to rent and have all the utilities put in my tenants name. Also put in your lease that you can enter the premises after 48 hours notice to inspect the property. Do it often. It can be a chore but it also can pay dividends. Kudos to you for investing and keep doing it!! Don't let this one tenant turn you away from it.

[jersey2nm]

Originally Posted by CharlotteAgent

Also put in your lease that you can enter the premises after 48 hours notice to inspect the property. Do it often. It can be a chore but it also can pay dividends. Kudos to you for investing and keep doing it!! Don't let this one tenant turn you away from it.

Yes, the key is to inspect often. That's why we sold. It was difficult to keep up with the inspections. At one time, my DH worked closer to the unit, once he changed jobs and worked in the opposite direction, it was just too far away. And then we were considering moving even to another state - it just wasn't worth keeping. I may also add, "No Pets", especially dogs. Even with 48 hour notice to inspect, most people will not enter a place with a dog barking on the other side of the door. You really need to inspect your rentals in order to keep it up to snuff. On another note, every year we had the section 8 tenant, the agency did an annual inspection. The guy we had was very thorough, but then again he could be because the place was kept clean by the tenant. I felt terrible we couldn't renew the lease. The tenant and her family were very understanding as they knew our circumstances. If we had another place to rent, I would definitely rent to that section 8 tenant again.

[California Landlord]

Originally Posted by CharlotteAgent

If you report them to the housing authority they could loose there assistance.

Not all section 8 tenants are this way.

No, sorry, tried that......they DO NOT lose their assistance, they allow them to continue to another section 8 apartment with full section 8 benefits