Iron Range,
I'll try this one last time and then you can have the last word.
Section 8 tenants are no different from any other low income tenants. They do all the same stupid things that any other tenants do and in about the same proportions. Low income tenants frequently do not act rationally, that is exactly why they are low income tenants. In almost every case, they repeatedly make poor choices in their lives. Most of these people are not upwardly mobile and will always be low income.
You should screen every tenant and we do. In fact, we do a very thorough screening. The fact is that a lot of Section 8 tenants are single females with multiple children, usually by different men. (Some of the bad choices I was talking about). However, whether they are male or female, the common thread is that most are relatively young and make bad choices.
We only take tenants that have no felonies AND not more than 2 misdemeanors AND no drugs. It is pointless to screen Section 8 tenants with a credit score, because they all have terrible credit. We do not accept anyone that has been evicted in the past five years or had their utilities shut off in the last year.
None of this differs whether the tenant is self-pay or Section 8. Once the tenants are in our rental, approximately 90% are good tenants. Whether they are self-pay or Section 8, they cause no problems and we get paid on time. An additional 9% have some issues that we must deal with, but they pay their rent. On average, we evict 1% per month, almost always for non-payment of rent. These percentages are almost exactly the same whether the tenant is self-pay or Section 8.
Whether the tenant is Section 8 or not, your payment is "guaranteed" by your lease (and the Tenancy Addendum for Section 8 tenants). However, what does "guaranteed" mean? It means that you will receive your rent if the tenant follows the lease. In either case, if the tenant does not follow the lease, you may not get your rent.
In one of your earlier posts you said:
One tenant I had paid $35 a month and section 8 paid about $509 a month. She stopped paying so I went through all the process of evicting her. I never told section 8 she wasn't paying so I keeped getting rent from section 8 all the way up until she was removed. The few months it took to get her out only cost me $35 a month. But if this was a non-section 8 apartment I would have lost the full $544 a month. $544 a month for 3-4 months is a couple of thousand dollars vs. a couple of hundred.
This is a blantant violation of the agreement that you signed with Section 8. You can NOT do this without risking losing your Section 8 eligibility as a landlord. In addition, Section 8 could demand repayment of the rent that you received as a result of your violation of your contract. Here is what the contract you signed required (paragraph 8 f):
"The owner MUST give the PHA a copy of any owner eviction notice at the same time the owner notifies the tenant".
So, not telling Section 8 that the tenant isn't paying their portion is a violation of YOUR agreement. If you only have two rentals, you might be willing to risk violating your HAP contract, but I have a bunch of Section 8 rentals and will not lose a sizeable part of my business to do things in a shady manner. In addition, there is just no reason to do things wrong. You might be able to get away with this non-sense for a while, but that won't go on forever.
Are rents guaranteed from Section 8? No. Will they pay as long as the tenant (and the landlord) follow their agreements? Yes.
Are the payments guaranteed for non-Section 8 tenants? No. Will they pay as long as the tenant follows their agreement? Yes.
In either case, if the tenant decides not to pay or to otherwise violates the lease, the rent will stop - one way or another.
An eviction is a legal proceeding - simple. If someone leaves without a legal proceeding, You did NOT evict them.
You claimed that it takes several months to go to court. That is simply wrong in the vast majority of the US.
Most tenants who do not pay rent will not leave voluntarily. That is simply incorrect. You will realize this as your portfolio grows and you gain more experience.
Mike
