Section 8: the good, the bad, and the ugly
There are a sub group of investors who mandate only going Sec 8 for their properties. I get it...it's guaranteed income every month. No excuses of why it's paid late. No chasing down tenants for rent money that never showed up. There are others who refuse to deal with Sec 8 given their initial inspections and their annual inspections. The thought being there will always be maintenance work to be done. As a property manager, if an owner tells me they want to go Sec 8, I will comply. But can I illustrate perhaps reasons why you might be better off using private pay tenants? 1) Section 8 tenants put a lot more wear and tear on their units than private pay. Sec 8 tenants are home a greater amount of time than a private payer who has to work to keep a roof over their head and put food on the table. I've seen significant more wear & tear with a Sec 8 tenant. Every. Single. Time. 2) Private pay tenants tend to be more ...