Section 8 : ezLandlordForms

D

Deanna S

started a topic almost 15 years ago

I have prospective tenants that want to sign a separate agreement outside of their Section 8 agreement to pay the remaining amount of the rent that I'm asking. In other words, Section 8 only covers X and they want a separate agreement for the remaining $450. Has anyone ever dealt with that in MA? Am I being overly suspicious or is something fishy about this?

T

T K

said almost 14 years ago

"allow me to have a damage deposit on the tenant. That was the real problem... NO DAMAGE DEPOSIT." This is absoluetly FALSE. If this person got told this, they were lied to. Section 8 Housing tenants MUST pay a deposit like any other tenant. "Bad news if sec 8 covers a utility it is deducted from check" Wrong again. If you charge rent all inclusive the amount you get from housing is determined by the tenants income. So if you are all inclusive and the rent is 1000. The tenant pays 30% of their income to you the landlord. Either way, you will get your entire rent check (unless your tenant doesn't pay their portion).

B

Balkys S

said over 14 years ago

Not me- or any of the LL's I know. It's my experience that Sec8 is too high a risk for the small LL/homeowner.

B

Balkys S

said over 14 years ago

Listen to your instinct. If you have a bad feeling about it, you should back out. It's nearly impossible to raise rent after the 1st year of the intial term. Take your chance on the open market.

T

T K

said over 14 years ago

Again, tenants actions are not linked to the Section 8 program. If someone doesn't pay their portion of rent on time it has nothing to do with the section 8 program. These people are using a program as a scape goat for them choosing irresponsible tenants. Section 8 DOES allow for increases in rent when the market determines such increases are warranted. If you are stupid enough to continue renting to someone who is not paying their portion of the rent, or has been terminated from the Section 8 program thus you aren't getting paid, etc. that is your own stupidity. Again, Section 8 is simply a program that helps people pay a portion of their rent. The program itself is not the problem, its who YOU as a landlord choose to rent to.

B

Billie P

said over 14 years ago

Don't do it. The Housing people will inspect your property and make you incur costs to make changes, then don't protect you when their tenant ends up destroying it all anyway. Guaranteed payments sound like a great deal, but they don't take into account all the headaches you will have and the damages you will have to deal with. In the long run, you won't come out ahead.

B

Balkys S

said over 14 years ago

Oh yeah- you can't willingly increase your rent either the following yr. This is frawned upon. Housing people tell you that you can, but it's a lie. They send you paperwork and they have to approve the increase, and this process takes about 6 mo. - 1 yr before rejection. They stall the process. What's worst, if they decrease their subsidized portion, the tenant is responsible for paying the increase on the remainder, and if they don't pay you, you're collecting less in rent. For ex. if unit is $1155, tenant pays $121, Housing people pay $1034 rent is made. But if housing drops to $1006, the tenant is now reponsible for $29 more rent at a total of $149. Courts will say $29 is petty and force the LL to work out a payment plan with the tenant. Meantime, you've lost more the $29 on the process of getting court. Froms and Filing fees $90 - $135, Constable $75, Parking to go to court $20-$25. This doesn't include the day you took off from work.

G

Gabriel D

said over 14 years ago

I have to agree with TK also. I have not had any problems with sec 8 tenants. My dad has had rental units for over 30 yrs and he loves sec 8. I guess it might depend on the housing office you deal with. It seems in my town the sec 8 tenants are affraid of losing there assistance so they always seem to be on their best. I keep my units in good shape but they are not in great shape and I have no problems passing inspection. Keep in mind though this is not cash and every penny should be reported to Uncle Sam.

N

Nekeisha S

said about 11 years ago

Thanks Karen, I found the forum with the horrible stories about Section 8 tenants.

H

Hope S

said over 14 years ago

OMG housing just stopped paying for my tenant. They say she has to have a hearing to requalify. Right now I have not been paid August payment and I am also looking at not getting September payment. Her lease expires end of October 2009 and I am not going to renew it. She complains about every thing. She just came back from Jaimaica (went there for holiday). I had to track her down to send me her potion of the rent via western union. Never again. How can you afford to go on vacation when your rent has not been paid?

e

Elijah O

said almost 11 years ago

Never and never go to the current landlord of any tenant to ask for his or her opinion about soon to be ex-tenant because he or she will not tell you the whole truth about the tenant. Secondly most tenant will not give you information about his or her current landlord rather they will give the telephone # of their friends to speak on their behalf. Instead try as much as possible to locate the previous landlord before this current one, and since he or she has nothing to loose he or she will give a close to accurate information about your soon to be tenant. On sect 8 tenant, ask the tenant to give you his or her voucher number and the previous addresses he or she has lived before this time, and you can then use that information to find out how many violations did his or her former landlord incurred during his or her tenancy. Any rent suspension or restoration notices should signal some potential problem though not in all cases but should raise your antennae.

S

Stan M

said about 14 years ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "I can’t evict her because it’s winter time." Send tenant (and Housing a copy) a Notice to pay or Quit. Usually those on Housing have other resources (excluding you) to help with the rent. More than likely, Housing will contact them and inform them that if they don't pay, they will loss their subsidy if they have to move. If Housing rules are the same across the USA, they will make up the difference. There is no reason a LL should wait 5 months before demanding rent payment. Keep us posted.

T

Travis T

said about 11 years ago

My father has had a section 8 tenant for several years with no problems. I think it can be a good situation, but your property needs to be inspected every so often by a govt official. It can be a hassle to. I took a landlord class and was was told section 8 renters can be very good. i have never had one so I cant say too much. Best of luck to you

k

Karen S

said about 11 years ago

I personally have not, however many people on here have. Hopefully you will get more responses. You can also look through various posts in this forum regarding sec 8, I am sure there is much more info!

s

Sam C

said about 11 years ago

I have several section 8 rental properties. When you hear the words Section 8, you will hear many comments from good to bad. If you are a new landlord, the idea of renting to section 8 voucher tenants can be very attractive, since, in most cases, you are pretty much guaranteed your rent payment. There is some great free information on this free site, www.section8LL.com. Good luck with your new venture....