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spitfirebill
spitfirebill MegaDork
10/17/18 4:00 p.m.

I did environmental assessments on a couple of apartment complexes that were partially Section 8.  You could tell which was which. 

And I don't know if its Section 8 or public housing (if there is a difference), but here they will kick out a Grandma if her worthless son or daughter gets arrested for drugs.     

racerdave600
racerdave600 UltraDork
10/17/18 4:16 p.m.
pheller said:

I asked if her security deposit covered most of the damage, and they said no. I asked how much they think they might of lost on the deal they said "a couple of a grand, but we sold it for $100k more than way we paid so it was worth it." 

So her security deposit didn't cover all the damage, they paid a few thousand for the rest, but they made money renting to her, and they made substantial money keeping the house until the market improved. 

My last rental tenant did over $10k in damage that I had to repair.  It was the last straw and I sold it.  No way was I making enough on the rental nor the property value increase to make up for the damage people were doing.  The sad part is you cannot sue them and get your money back since most renters do not have that kind of money to start with.  I tried a couple of times.  You also cannot just throw them out once you discover damage because in Alabama all the laws are written for the renters.  It took almost 8 months to evict someone once for instance.  They lived rent free during that time and almost destroyed the place.  And this wasn't even section 8.  I could go into stories about my parents section 8 saga, as it gets much worse!

bigeyedfish
bigeyedfish New Reader
10/18/18 7:53 a.m.

I have friends who rent Section 8 and say it's great, and I have another friend who rents mid - high end apartments after many years of lower end stuff.  He says he'd never go back.  The pay was consistent, but it was way more work.  Now he has fewer units, makes more money, and has more free time.

mtn
mtn MegaDork
10/18/18 8:19 a.m.

Funny enough, this came up in conversation last night with an acquaintance. This guy leans very far to the left--as in, thought Bernie Sanders was too conservative. Apparently he had some rentals, and one was Section 8. Holy Cow, I never thought I'd hear him complain about a government handout and the entitlement of lazy folks who don't want to work, but he was right there with all of my Ann Coulter reading relatives.

(not) WilD (Matt)
(not) WilD (Matt) Dork
10/18/18 9:06 a.m.
mtn said:

Funny enough, this came up in conversation last night with an acquaintance. This guy leans very far to the left--as in, thought Bernie Sanders was too conservative. Apparently he had some rentals, and one was Section 8. Holy Cow, I never thought I'd hear him complain about a government handout and the entitlement of lazy folks who don't want to work, but he was right there with all of my Ann Coulter reading relatives.

I was avoiding comment on this as I have no first hand experience.  But your story is very similar to my friends who rented a house through Section 8 for a couple years while they waited out the housing downturn.  They certainly complained about the cost to them in time and money for quite a while.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
10/18/18 9:14 a.m.
racerdave600 said:
pheller said:

I asked if her security deposit covered most of the damage, and they said no. I asked how much they think they might of lost on the deal they said "a couple of a grand, but we sold it for $100k more than way we paid so it was worth it." 

So her security deposit didn't cover all the damage, they paid a few thousand for the rest, but they made money renting to her, and they made substantial money keeping the house until the market improved. 

My last rental tenant did over $10k in damage that I had to repair.  It was the last straw and I sold it.  No way was I making enough on the rental nor the property value increase to make up for the damage people were doing.  The sad part is you cannot sue them and get your money back since most renters do not have that kind of money to start with.  I tried a couple of times.  You also cannot just throw them out once you discover damage because in Alabama all the laws are written for the renters.  It took almost 8 months to evict someone once for instance.  They lived rent free during that time and almost destroyed the place.  And this wasn't even section 8.  I could go into stories about my parents section 8 saga, as it gets much worse!

I’ve made that mistake. 

Many landlords miss the fact that there is nothing stopping bad tenants from leaving voluntarily. The last bad tenant I had, I made it pretty simple. I told him I would pay him 2 months rent in cash if he was gone in 48 hours. He left voluntarily, and I didn’t have to go through any eviction proceedings. Plus, he didn’t live there for 8 months pissed off at me and damaging the property.  I cleaned it up and rented it quickly.

There has never been a law preventing a landlord from offering a tenant an incentive to leave. 

fiesta54
fiesta54 Reader
10/18/18 9:18 a.m.

In reply to SVreX :

Cash for keys

Adrian_Thompson
Adrian_Thompson MegaDork
10/18/18 9:32 a.m.

Yeah, I decided to pass on section 8 altogether.  We have three showings over the next three days to regular rentals so I'm sure it will rent very quickly.  I was kind of surprised that a section 8 person contacted me as the house isn't even close to the bottom of the market.  We're asking top $ for a house in a good location in very very good condition

racerdave600
racerdave600 UltraDork
10/18/18 10:17 a.m.
SVreX said:
racerdave600 said:
pheller said:

I asked if her security deposit covered most of the damage, and they said no. I asked how much they think they might of lost on the deal they said "a couple of a grand, but we sold it for $100k more than way we paid so it was worth it." 

So her security deposit didn't cover all the damage, they paid a few thousand for the rest, but they made money renting to her, and they made substantial money keeping the house until the market improved. 

My last rental tenant did over $10k in damage that I had to repair.  It was the last straw and I sold it.  No way was I making enough on the rental nor the property value increase to make up for the damage people were doing.  The sad part is you cannot sue them and get your money back since most renters do not have that kind of money to start with.  I tried a couple of times.  You also cannot just throw them out once you discover damage because in Alabama all the laws are written for the renters.  It took almost 8 months to evict someone once for instance.  They lived rent free during that time and almost destroyed the place.  And this wasn't even section 8.  I could go into stories about my parents section 8 saga, as it gets much worse!

I’ve made that mistake. 

Many landlords miss the fact that there is nothing stopping bad tenants from leaving voluntarily. The last bad tenant I had, I made it pretty simple. I told him I would pay him 2 months rent in cash if he was gone in 48 hours. He left voluntarily, and I didn’t have to go through any eviction proceedings. Plus, he didn’t live there for 8 months pissed off at me and damaging the property.  I cleaned it up and rented it quickly.

There has never been a law preventing a landlord from offering a tenant an incentive to leave. 

Yeah, I tried a bribe, but his comment was why sell out cheap when he can live rent free.

drsmooth
drsmooth HalfDork
10/18/18 2:15 p.m.
Adrian_Thompson said:

Yeah, I decided to pass on section 8 altogether.  We have three showings over the next three days to regular rentals so I'm sure it will rent very quickly.  I was kind of surprised that a section 8 person contacted me as the house isn't even close to the bottom of the market.  We're asking top $ for a house in a good location in very very good condition

If you have no intention of paying or are not footing the bill to begin with why not get something nice. If I was going to buy a car on a payment plan with no intention of  actually paying, or if someone else said; "Go get a car, any car you like. Just don't go too crazy". Why settle for a cheap car. 

drsmooth
drsmooth HalfDork
10/18/18 2:24 p.m.
SVreX said:

I’ve made that mistake. 

Many landlords miss the fact that there is nothing stopping bad tenants from leaving voluntarily. The last bad tenant I had, I made it pretty simple. I told him I would pay him 2 months rent in cash if he was gone in 48 hours. He left voluntarily, and I didn’t have to go through any eviction proceedings. Plus, he didn’t live there for 8 months pissed off at me and damaging the property.  I cleaned it up and rented it quickly.

There has never been a law preventing a landlord from offering a tenant an incentive to leave. 

I have never had one accept a bribe. Every one of them wanted the money in advance,   ̶T̶O̶ ̶C̶O̶V̶E̶R̶ ̶M̶O̶V̶I̶N̶G̶ ̶E̶X̶P̶E̶N̶S̶E̶S̶  TO BUY METH.

I didn't fall for their elaborate ruse and now they were even more pissed at me thinking that somehow I now was the one cheating them out of money.   

trigun7469
trigun7469 SuperDork
10/19/18 7:59 a.m.

This is a interesting topic. I live in the city and landlords are looking outside the city for properties for section 8 because of the taxes, companies building over section 8, and new blight legislation, is making it less worthwhile. One company is trying to build a 53 unit complex in a neighboring township that is very low taxes and it will be right next a walmart. It has been denied as the local citizens in the township are in a uproar but might gain traction after the election if the lower the amount of tenants. There has been some negative attention, people are basically saying what everybody has been saying in this thread what it brings. People outside of the township are calling the denial profiling. Waiting to see if some of the political agendas jump in on this.

mtn
mtn MegaDork
10/19/18 8:36 a.m.
trigun7469 said:

This is a interesting topic. I live in the city and landlords are looking outside the city for properties for section 8 because of the taxes, companies building over section 8, and new blight legislation, is making it less worthwhile. One company is trying to build a 53 unit complex in a neighboring township that is very low taxes and it will be right next a walmart. It has been denied as the local citizens in the township are in a uproar but might gain traction after the election if the lower the amount of tenants. There has been some negative attention, people are basically saying what everybody has been saying in this thread what it brings. People outside of the township are calling the denial profiling. Waiting to see if some of the political agendas jump in on this.

Not to  make it political, but this is one of the points where the old "If you're young and not a Democrat, you're heartless. If you grow up and you're not a Republican, you're stupid" adage really rings true. No one wants these folks out on the streets, but they also don't want them in their neighborhood. If you do, you're lying. 

And there is not an easy solution, either. The drugs have won the war on drugs (and I'm not talking about marijuana either). 

trigun7469
trigun7469 SuperDork
10/19/18 9:01 a.m.

In reply to mtn :

I think the media and the hype doesn't really portray the average citizen. My community was highlighted for being traditionally blue community and changing to red, based on what has happened to the city. Those that are calling into question the profiling do not live in the city and typically in wealthy townships and fly in to protest. One political candidate committed political suicide talkign about the refuges we have brought in and are living in section 8. There is probably a better answer but no one wants to say it. The unfortunate part is the local non-profits under-estimate the capability of these citizens and rather then get them working knowledge on achieving success all the time is spent on how to get money and free things for the government. It's a shame because there is talent being wasted and many generations that either won't leave it or can't. Then there is the crippling effect of Heroin and Fentanyl on all citizens.

SVreX
SVreX MegaDork
10/19/18 9:54 a.m.

In reply to trigun7469 :

You are assuming the goal is for them to have “working knowledge” and “achieve success”. 

What if the goal is to keep them dependent on a system of handouts for political gain?

RealMiniNoMore
RealMiniNoMore PowerDork
10/19/18 9:58 a.m.

In reply to SVreX :

Tread lightly. This is getting dangerously close to going political. 

I refrained from commenting about what you've said, in fear of Margie starting up the cement mixer. 

RealMiniNoMore
RealMiniNoMore PowerDork
10/19/18 10:32 a.m.

As for the topic at hand, I have a friend with a few rental properties, in low-income areas. He won't do Section 8, for the reasons many have said here. He has enough to deal with, with people that pay with their own money. Ju

P3PPY
P3PPY GRM+ Memberand Reader
10/19/18 10:35 a.m.

I know the decision has been made already, but my personal experience with the guy who renovated after the next door neighbors tells me not to do it. He seemed like a pretty jaded rough guy,  (offered to steal a nice stereo for me if I could do him some favor or another) but he was flummoxed at how badly those people had torn up the house. They spraypainted all the windows black and then yeah garbage upon garbage. The owner had like 8 properties up and down our street and probably some elsewhere but the guy said it wasn't worth it anymore to deal with all that. Now he sold it.

I could see it working if you're a faceless company that only looks at the bottom line, like consistent inflated rent cost - repair bills, but I think for anyone who cares about human decency of good things not being destroyed or bringing in that kind of disrespectful neighbor to be around everyone ELSE who lives there, it's pretty jacked up. I mean, we homeowners know you don't want to live next to a renter, but this is like a renter on steroids. Heh. Or other drug of choice.

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