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BEING HEARTLESS ABOUT THE SITUATION WILL ONLY HURT LANDLORDS IN THE LONG RUN. KARMA IS REAL!
I'm not a charity, and I can't treat my rentals as anything other than a business.
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BESIDES A LANDLORDS RENT IS GUARENTEED WITH SECTION 8.
The rent may be "guarenteed" [sic] but damages are not. Having worked in the property management business for several years before having my own rentals, I can vouch for the fact that a Section 8 tenant is more likely to trash a place than someone who is not Section 8. Note that I am not saying all S8 tenants are bad, I'm not. I'm just saying I don't particularly feel like taking that extra hassle and risk upon myself, or bringing down my property values and the property values of my neighbors by introducing S8 to my rentals.
The rent may be "guarenteed" [sic] but damages are not. Having worked in the property management business for several years before having my own rentals, I can vouch for the fact that a Section 8 tenant is more likely to trash a place than someone who is not Section 8. Note that I am not saying all S8 tenants are bad, I'm not. I'm just saying I don't particularly feel like taking that extra hassle and risk upon myself, or bringing down my property values and the property values of my neighbors by introducing S8 to my rentals.
The portion of rent that is guaranteed can vary anywhere from a few dollars to all of it... it depends on the family income and the rent assistance is re-evaluated at least once a year... so it is really not guaranteed.
Section 8 landlords must also agree to meet Section 8 standards...
As mentioned... over the years the Section 8/Voucher program has undergone tremendous changes... about the only thing that has not changed is a portion of the certificate holders rent is paid by a third party with HUD funds.
Section 8 no longer will entertain any damage claims... section 8 no longer assists tenants with security deposits and unlike when the program started... Landlords must handle all evictions and Section 8 determines if the Rent is "Reasonable"
Originally... the Housing Authority would rent the unit from the Landlord and take care of everything.... it's not anything like that now.
Many of the owners I know stopped accepting new Section 8 when the program left it to the owner to deal with damage and unpaid rent...
I have had nothing but bad experiences living around Section 8 tenant homes. Sorry, but that's the truth. It makes me cringe to see an investor swoop into a neighborhood, become some type of slum lord, and just get a string of tenants who don't give a crap about the property and largely have a ghetto mentality. It's a shame that needing assistance means that you have to act like you should be living in a hut. Not one of the tenants ever mowed the grass, they left garbage out on the front step..I could go on and on.
I have had nothing but bad experiences living around Section 8 tenant homes. Sorry, but that's the truth. It makes me cringe to see an investor swoop into a neighborhood, become some type of slum lord, and just get a string of tenants who don't give a crap about the property and largely have a ghetto mentality. It's a shame that needing assistance means that you have to act like you should be living in a hut. Not one of the tenants ever mowed the grass, they left garbage out on the front step..I could go on and on.
Most of the neighbors don't even know my rentals with Section 8 are Section 8.
What you say about keeping up the outside of the property is very true... I tell all prospective tenants... Section 8 and non Section 8 that the rent includes a gardener to take care of the yards as long as they understand they are paying for the water... if this is a problem... they should not bother to fill out an application...
As for trash... I pay for garbage service for all my rentals... there is no excuse for trash to accumulate... I also include an extra pick-up for the first week of January to deal with excess from the holidays...
First of all, I'd like to thank the people who came to my defense after what I wrote. I'd also like to explain the stringent compliance codes that Section 8 tenants must abide by - at least in Colorado. First and foremost, a criminal background check is done on every Section 8 applicant - if there is any criminal record, that person is not qualified to receive Section 8 housing. Secondly, the Housing Authority does a walk-through before the tenant can move it to ensure that the housing standards are up to code; i.e., the hot water works, fire alarms work, there is a fire extinguisher in the building being leased, no trash/junk is obstructing doors/outlets to and from the house or apartment, etc. I think a lot of landlords/managers don't want to go with Section 8 because they HAVE to abide by these codes or else they won't be eligible to be a Section 8 house/apartment. Once the tenant has moved in, the housing authority requires a standards code every year before they approve that tenant for another year, both on the part of the leasor and the tenant. In that respect, you are more likely to have a better class of person renting that space than if you just chose someone randomly from an ad. As I said before, before I became disabled, I was an extremely hard worker, I have a college degree and have a very hard time with loud, aggressive, rude neighbors, so I'm glad that these rules/codes are stringently applied. My daughter finished college in Seattle and then got married to someone she met there while she was in school. My son is a firefighter in Los Angeles. I don't think I'll ever be able to afford living close enough to my son, but if I try to find a place on the outskirts of Seattle (maybe an hour or two away), I could probably swing it financially. I know that either way I go, it will be more expensive than Colorado Springs (where the cost of living is still relatively high), but I don't want to be forced to live so far away from my children just because I was injured due to someone else's poor driving. My lease here is up in June or July of 2010 and I sincerely hope and pray that I will be able to find housing closer to my kids.
Such ignorance ! People are people and will cause problems despite their housing or social economical situation. I happen to receive Section 8 and have rented a home with the same landlord for the past 6 years. I'm a Master's student at Northwestern University as well as an employee. Receiving housing assistance should not and does not reflect character, it is something I have to do right now until my situation changes. I am NOT nasty, dirty, disrespectful, rude, lazy or any other name you can come -up with! Your tenants were those things because you obviously are too ! section 8 has nothing to do with it !!! You attract What You Are !!!!!!!!!!
Don't be so naive timbuck2. Ignorance is one thing and having personal experience is another. No doubt renters could be hit or miss never mind if they are section 8 or not. You can argue the stereotypes all you want but you can't say one's personal experience is misguided or wrong. Of course it does not mean everyone from a certain group is bad! It's just personal preference based on personal experience.
Let me throw this at you. You interview a potential renter and he comes in with baggy pants sagging to his knees with an over sized hoody. What are your first impressions? You then interview someone well dressed with a button collar shirt and well mannered attitude. Who are you likely to rent to? Don't lie. If you say equal opportunity, you are kidding yourself.
When I first bought my place I did multiple drive arounds ( prior to purchase ) to see what was going on in the neighborhoods.
I noted the cars and the people , Everything looked pretty good.
After I moved in the Real Estate Market crashed.
When I first moved in there were cars in every parking space. After I was there awhile I noticed slowly that I was the ONLY car parked back there.
I then noticed back there all the units were EMPTY !
This went on a while and it was pretty quiet there.
Then one day I noticed alot of shady people were moving in , hanging around on their porch and in the streets ( nobody appeared to be working ) , the bus stop dropped off ( teenage ) kids and they would scream , throw things at each other and block the street so you had to stop your car so you would not hit them.
My neighbors below had a drug den . Busy all hours. People crashing on the sofa down there. Very high and loud and normal time to come in was 4:00 am .
Guy below never worked , had a police ankle bracelet on , his grandma died and he stayed in there rent free bcause his unit was a foreclosure. His grandma was renting it . and then she died so he brought in multiple sketchy people and they over - ran the place.
Then one night a druggie was beating up a girl right below my window . I had reached my limit. The police came many times.
These shady ppl were climbing in and squatting in the abandoned Condos. Climbing right through the window.
The whole complex was * Section 8 city *
They broke into ALL the mailboxes that were in a ROOM with BARS which they pried apart to get eachothers Welfare Checks.
Meawhile the place was DROPPING severely in VALUE. Lots of foreclosures. The rest of the desperate owners turned into Section 8 so they could receive money for rentals .
What a cruel thing to do to the owners. Many lost to foreclosure . Many walked away. The place turned into a cesspool of crime and it was hard to sell.
My experience is that alot of Section 8'ers trash the places , disrespect the property , bring crime , drugs and theft into their location.
I realize there are nice Section 8'rs but I didn' run across any.
Oh because of the Section 8r's they permananty closed the Pool , the Clubhouse and the Gym. Because of Vandalism...
How do you know? Did the tenants volunteer information that they were on Section 8? It could be that, as the market declined, rents also decline and now a new, lower-earning demographic could afford the area.
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Originally Posted by WannaliveinGreenville
They broke into ALL the mailboxes that were in a ROOM with BARS which they pried apart to get eachothers Welfare Checks.
Again, how do you know they were breaking into mailboxes to steal Welfare checks? This is, of course, assuming that you somehow knew that there were any checks in the boxes to begin with. I assume your neighbors told you that they received welfare checks.
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Originally Posted by WannaliveinGreenville
Meawhile the place was DROPPING severely in VALUE. Lots of foreclosures. The rest of the desperate owners turned into Section 8 so they could receive money for rentals .
Once more, how do you know they turned to section 8? The owners told you?
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