  Detroit_pride Member Username: Detroit_pride Post Number: 14 Registered: 02-2008 |
Does anyone have any experience with Section 8 housing? How is working with city in regards to Section 8 housing? I'm looking to rent out a house Section 8, where do I get approved? Who inspects the house, city? renter? or Agency? to meet the requirements? Thanks in advance | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6370 Registered: 11-2003 |
Detroit Housing Authority. There are long waits to get a voucher. It's not like getting a Social Security card or Food Stamps. It could be called a "semi-entitlement." It is fractionalized, given the great need. Once clients get their Sec. 8 vouchers, they are often on the program a long time. Thus, the turnover is low. People don't move on and off assistance very much. jjaba. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 217 Registered: 10-2006 |
Don't do it. Better to have an empty house than a Section 8 house. The tenants will trash the property and HUD will not always pay on time. | ||
Kevgoblu Member Username: Kevgoblu Post Number: 83 Registered: 02-2007 |
Not to mention, what about the neighbors? Would you want someone renting out the house next door to YOU to Section 8's? Find someone who goes to work everyday. | ||
Nativegirl Member Username: Nativegirl Post Number: 102 Registered: 01-2004 |
Okay, who can you make a complaint to when we (homeowners) know of an instances where the person renting a home is able-bodied, have a new vehicle and have so many folks (relatives) in the place and is claiming to have a Section 8 voucher? We tried reaching the owner of the house, but hell he's out in W. Bloomfield; chilling and not giving a rat's arse because he's getting paid monthly. These folks don't rake leaves up, drive down the street with annoyingly loud music, have so many folks sitting on the porch in the summertime that we the neighbors can't even enjoy our own darned investment! | ||
Dannyv Member Username: Dannyv Post Number: 157 Registered: 08-2007 |
I had Section 8 neighbors and they were the reason I moved out of Detroit. The single Mom worked at an after hours social club in Brightmoor. Late nights when she was gone, her older boys would roam the neighborhood, signaling each other with high-pitched whistles. Any attempt I made to talk to the boys was ignored or rebuffed. They were enamored of a gang from their previous neighborhood, the Brightmoor Gang, and they tagged their new neighborhood with gang signs. I didn't want to become a notch on their learning curve so I sold my house to my other next door neighbor at a discount so he could control who moved in next door to him. That was two years ago. He put the house up for sale last year but the only person who looked at it was a guy who broke in to survey the copper situation. This is in the Grand River/Telegraph/7 Mile area. | ||
Detroitmaybe Member Username: Detroitmaybe Post Number: 88 Registered: 03-2008 |
Detroit_pride Please don't let the negativity of those that posted dissuade or discourage you from renting your home to tenants using the Housing Choice Voucher Program. You have good and bad renters, and homeowners too...you just have to be selective and use your own discretion in how and whom u decide to rent to! I have a home that I am also in the process of listing as a Sec. 8 property and do have friends that have respectable tenants currently. It is so ignorant to think that just because someone is in need of subsidized housing that they are not capable of maintaining their household. Perhaps, these posters may have made poor choices but, to make generalized statements about all who are recipients of assistance is just plain ignorant!•••• Anyhoo...If you want more information re: the requirements to register your home you can visit http://www.michigan.gov/mshda/ 0,1607,7-141-5555_41270---,00. html or call MSHDA @ 517-373-8370 also u can list your property free on: michiganhousinglocator.com or rentlinx.com and if u need tenant placement assistance there are organizations that will send u potential tenants. I spoke with one called RPI Mgmt. and the contact is Linda 313-846-4402. She can give u a list of the criteria u need to send to them. You can be as selective as you want in your tenant selection process as it is your property. Just as with anyone that rents their property you can personally screen potential tenants or have a professional company do it for you for a small fee. Good Luck!! | ||
Blueidone Member Username: Blueidone Post Number: 216 Registered: 03-2007 |
I too have experience with renting to those who have Housing Choice Vouchers. As with anything else in this world, there are good and bad. Detroitmaybe is right. My experience is about 50% are great tenants...50% leave something to be desired. In my experience, the only time payments were not received in a timely manner were when there were maintenance issues, or paperwork was not completed in a timely fashion. There are a lot of rules and regulations, but if you follow them, it's a pretty smooth process. You can contact the Detroit Housing Commission at 313-877-8000...also COTS will give referrals. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6375 Registered: 11-2003 |
jjaba was a Comissioner of Public housing for several years. There are some bad tenants ofcourse, both in personal behavior, property damage, criminal behaviors, over-occupancy and late on their share of the rent. The Agency does have funds for damages, because after evictions, you'll never see a dime from the disgruntled tenant. Landlords would be adivsed to hire lawn services or do it themselves unless an Agency does it. That way, the exterior can stay nice. Section 8 houses shouldn't demean curb appeal anywhere. Remember, scattered site voucher choice programs are there because public housing projects, slums with central heating, were a huge failure. Certain non-profits running apartment complexes with Section 8 programs have done better for tenants and the neighborhoods. jjaba. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 5003 Registered: 10-2003 |
"We tried reaching the owner of the house, but hell he's out in W. Bloomfield; chilling and not giving a rat's arse because he's getting paid monthly..." I had this problem once... rundown dump next door to my first house (which was also a rundown dump, until I spent a few years in it...)I made recordings of the loud music, got the landlords phone number and left multiple recordings of the loud music on his answering machine. He got tired of me, sold the building to some friends, who fixed it up and rented to nicer tenants... Another slumlord down the street was not so cooperative and torched his place when he got tired of the pesky neighbors complaining about his tenants selling drugs... There are some good nonprofits in Detroit who are renting property to low income folks...If you are considering becoming a landlord, I would not start your experience with section 8 housing. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6377 Registered: 11-2003 |
A pig by any other name is still a slum landlord. Quality, responsible landlords make money and maintain their properties. Owning rentals is not an easy way to make a living. Some do it well, others milk the properties and give little back. Barnesfoto tells it like it tis. Not just Detroit, anywhere. jjaba. | ||
Kevgoblu Member Username: Kevgoblu Post Number: 84 Registered: 02-2007 |
^^^ That's probably an accurate statement. The landlord does play a big part in ensuring the house remains up to the standard of the neighborhood. Unfortunately, it seems most landlords are chillin in W. Bloomfield while their properties go to hell in a handbasket. No question, there is a definate correlation between the quality of a neighborhood and the rate of home ownership. Barnesfoto and Jjaba tell it like it is. Kevgoblu, sipping a little bourbon on the rocks on a nice spring night. | ||
Hamtragedy Member Username: Hamtragedy Post Number: 138 Registered: 10-2007 |
As someone who maintains several rentals in the city, you really have to be selective these days. Keep in mind the top of the rental pool all tried to buy houses within the last five years, before the price of natural gas, gasoline, and home insurance went sky high. Now, many have been spit out by the foreclosure crisis and are now at the bottom of the rental pool. Be selective. Also, to do it right, make your property as nice as you can. Rental quality does not count. If you wouldn't want to live there, why should anyone else pay you to live there? Section 8 does require regular inspections, and to get a section 8 tenant, your house has to pass a section 8 inspection. Got Broken windows, or windows that don't open, fix them. Peeling paint? Scrape it, mud it, smooth it, sand it, prime it, paint it. The tenant has to meet their portion of the inspection as well. Also, if the tenant screws up, chances of them getting Sect 8 in the future are slim. One more piece of advice. You're paying mortgage, home insurance, city taxes, (garbage $300 in Detroit), and your annual expenses to maintain the place. You will not get rich. Expect to put 10-20 % in maintenance into the house each year. You want tenants who are long term, and you want a repairman who you trust to be your eyes and ears. If you can't do it right, don't do it "rental quality," cuz now you're a slumlord. When tenants call for service, he should show up within a reasonable time. Plumbing, a day or two tops, (if not immediately..water damage sucks); bad light switch... soon. Heating problems shoud be fixed as soon as possible, and are expensive. (If you don't have money in the bank for a new furnace, this business is not for you). Find a qualilfied heating guy and stick to him if he's good. Oh, and a good question to ask prospects is "why are you moving?" See if they are trying to "move-up" and not just shuffling. If they offer you cash, they're probably holding out their last months rent at the previous place, thinking their deposit will cover that. It doesn't. Be smart, be selective, and maintain your property. You might actually get a good tenant who wants to stay. | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 427 Registered: 06-2007 |
My neighbor had experience as a residential landlord. He gave me this advice: Give the prospective tenants paperwork, such as application forms, except for ONE. Make sure you get their current address. A few days later,go to their current house with the final piece of paper, claiming to have "forgotten" to have provided it the first time, and hand it to them. Look at the condition of the house. Is garbage piled up everywhere? Is there a dent or hole in a wall? Are children toys cluttered all over the yard or porch? Thats what your house will look like if you rent to them. Im still thinking about doing this myself but I'm swamped in bills right now and haven't been able to come up with enough money for the down payment on what I really want. I want a 3 or 4-unit in a stable neighborhood, not one thats half-empty and fewer people are moving in than have recently moved out. It just seems less risky. I cant afford to be paying a mortgage payment and insurance on a house thats been empty for 2 months in an area not many people are moving to. Anyone know how high taxes are in Hamtramck or Mount Clemens? Hamtramcks population has actually gone UP, from 18,000 a decade ago to over 20,000 now. I just wasn't thinking about looking there previously because I was afraid taxes and insurance would be too high. | ||
Hamtragedy Member Username: Hamtragedy Post Number: 139 Registered: 10-2007 |
For a non - homestead single family house in Hamtramck with an equalized value of 30,000 (half of 60,000) , expect to pay a combined $2,200 (winter & summer). Insurance, approximately 500-1000/yr, more if vacant, more if you only have 60 Amp Service. And if you only charge $550-600 a month (pretty much what the market will bear right now) do the math. You're not clearing much (if any) with a mortgage + interest + repairs, but at least someone is buying the house for you. In other words, think long term, even for a house in the $25,000 range. |
