looking for realtors dealing with section 8 rentals (Sarasota, Bradenton: apartments, renter)

[Michelled810]

Does anyone know what realtors in the Bradenton fl area help with finding section 8 voucher rental homes???? Having such a hard time... They have a site called gosection8 but you have to pay a 40 dollar fee and im not sure if this is a scam.. my family and I are already out of my home in the Ocala area staying with family till I find a place...Already ported to Bradenton fl they gave me 160 days to find a home and have been looking for 3 weeks now....Finding one on my own is almost impossible...Please Help if you can Thank you for any advice leading me to the right direction

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Realtors don't usually deal with rentals. Not enough money in it to justify their time. Also the rental market here is insanely tight. There are not rentals for anyone, so landlords who have never done section 8 don't have a lot of incentive to try something new.

Based on our experience in CA accepting section 8, I have a couple of suggestions for you.

1. The section 8 office usually has a notebook in the office where landlords with current vacancies fill out a sheet for section 8 clients to fill out.

2. Search craigslist and put "section 8" in the search box. Most that come up will say section 8 not accepted, but 1 or 2 might come up that will.

3. Sell a potential landlord on virtues of section 8. Our first section 8 tenant was someone who talked us into it. Here are the advantages.

a. Section 8 typically pays above market rents. The premium is less in Sarasota than it was in CA because rents have escalated in Sarasota recently. But lets say Section 8 will pay $1289 for a two bedroom that the landlord is only asking $1200 for, that extra $89 is compelling.

b. Section 8 direct deposits the government funded portion directly into the landlords bank account so there is zero collection risk. If the government funded portion is high, that guaranteed payment is reassuring.

c. The local housing office will be all over you like white on rice if you cause any problems. No one wants to lose their eligibility, so people either don't cause problems in the first place or cease immediately when told to.

d. Section 8 inspects the property annually so the tenant has to maintain it well.

The major disadvantage to section 8 is the requirement to give tenants 90 days notice if the landlord terminates the lease--even it if is just a non-renewal at the end of the lease term. If that feature scares the landlord, you could offer to sign a off books agreement that you would leave with a 30 day notice bypassing your right to a 90 day notice.

The other disadvantage is the time section 8 takes to transfer locations. Your changes of getting someone to wait are slim to none. You need to be Manatee country approved before you start to look. Landlords will have their choice of tenants who can move in "today" so if they have to wait for you to get your act together, it is not happening.

Go look at potential rentals, and be your most spiffed up and polished self. You want to look very middle class and don't feed into potential landlords fears that section 8 only serves trailer trash. Try to build a rapport with the landlord and then explain section 8 and the advantages above. Don't call or email and ask if they will accept section 8. The answer will be no. Most likely you will have to convert someone to a section 8 landlord because they want to rent to you.

Remember that every section 8 landlords was not a section 8 landlord before they were. Someone had to convince them to try the program.

[wondermint2]

Originally Posted by Michelled810

Does anyone know what realtors in the Bradenton fl area help with finding section 8 voucher rental homes???? Having such a hard time... They have a site called gosection8 but you have to pay a 40 dollar fee and im not sure if this is a scam.. my family and I are already out of my home in the Ocala area staying with family till I find a place...Already ported to Bradenton fl they gave me 160 days to find a home and have been looking for 3 weeks now....Finding one on my own is almost impossible...Please Help if you can Thank you for any advice leading me to the right direction

The GoSection8 web site is free. If someone is trying to charge you $40 to use the site then they are trying to scam you. Just use the following link to go to the GoSection8 web site from your computer:

GoSection8.com - Section 8 Rental Housing & Apartments Listing Service for Landlords & Tenants

By the way I noticed that quite a few of the listings say that they don't require a Section 8 voucher. In other words anybody looking for a "low-cost" rental can use the GoSection8 web site. Without a Section 8 voucher though renters have to pay the full asking price. It seems a lot of the 'lower-cost' rentals might not be in the greatest neighborhoods and generally speaking they aren't "upscale". Still IMO it could be worth a look for anybody trying to find a bargain.

For Section 8 renters it's easiest to just use the GoSection8 web site to find a unit that's already accepting Section 8 tenants. However if the renter is willing to put in some time and do more leg work - they could probably find a nicer rental unit by contacting private landlords on Craigslist (and convincing them to enter the Section 8 program). Some landlords won't be interested in joining Section 8 so that route definitely takes more work.