Does anyone here rent property out to people who are on section 8? I have thought about buying a few inexpensive properties and renting them out to these tenants. It seems like a good thing because you are guaranteed to get your rent money at the beginning of the month, and you have more opportunities to rent to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to rent your place.
We do not. It would open doors to a stream of income but the hassles of getting and remaining approved was too much. We regularly run at 92% occupancy per year so we decided that the effort was not worth any gain.
The main downside to section 8 is that many of the section 8 tenants and many who may visit them and hang around will have all sorts of baggage and issues. I've also heard the paperwork is a nightmare.
I haven't and, candidly, I wouldn't. The guaranteed income stream is nice, but the downsides far out weight said. At least in my humble opinion.
I have seen great section 8 housing then I have seen really bad. Usually in great neighborhoods people get made if they bring section 8 around their place. It brings in the wrong type of crowd. I am not saying all people on section 8 are bad but most of them are just trying to get something free but at the same time I know people who really needs it.
We have tenants in our building who are on Section 8 and have never had a problem with any of them. I can't say the same about some other tenants in the building though.
I think it's important to take each individual on their own merits, rather than saying I would or wouldn't rent to a certain section of people. As a landlord it's your call at the end of the day, and if its not worth all the extra problems you might face, then you'll obviously prefer not to, but it is worth considering depending on the situation or the prospective tenants.
I never thought of that. I do rent to someone on disability though. It is good because his money comes in regularly like clockwork. He gets a lot of benefits from living here, and pays less of his income than he would on section 8. However, I would think that the property would have to meet government and local regulations to qualify as a section 8. I am just renting a room in my house and it wouldn't meet the guidelines.
You're right I think when you say that depending where the property is, it will have to be tested and meet certain regulations before you're allowed to rent it out to certain people. If that is the case and it needs work doing to meet the requirements, then you have to weigh up if it will be worth it or not.