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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Tulsa Rental Update

I finally got a few minutes to call my management company yesterday to see what the status of Rental #1 is. As I mentioned before, I noticed that they had raised the asking rent from $775 to $800. The $775 figure was itself a raise from the $750 it was rented at previously. So the place was empty during November and December when I was asking $775 and I was wondering why they raised the rent again, if it could rent at $775.

Turns out, they were meaning to contact me about this. They wanted to know if I was okay with renting to a Section 8 tenant. They think they can get $800 a month from Section 8 for this property, so that's why they raised the rent. If I was managing the property myself, I don't think I would do it. There is just too much work involved in getting the property qualified for Section 8, as Trisha found out. But since I've got a management company to handle all the work, I figured I might as well give it a shot. The only downside is I expect to get some more repair bills once the Section 8 inspectors check out the property.

Oh, and the woman I was speaking to at the property management company said she had been by the house a couple of times and it seems the neighbors like to sit outside and drink. Not a problem. Except they also like to throw their empty bottles into my yard! She talked with them about it and told them if they kept doing it, she'd call the police.

I know the previous tenants left the property right before the holiday season, so I expected some vacancy time, but I can't help but wonder if this has something to do with the property still remaining vacant. I know the previous tenants were Hispanic. Trisha has also noted how the new law has affected the companies she deals with in the area.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Shaun, section 8 can be a blessing or a nightmare... If you have a competent manager, it might be worthwhile... I know people who have many section 8 units in their portfolios and I know other investors who want nothing to do with section 8 and have had terrible experiences... It's really a crapshoot and how aggressively you manage your property... Different cities have housing authorities that vary greatly in their efficiency...
The nice thing about section 8 is that they must have year leases, and the money comes every month.. However, section 8 also greatly raises the possibility of getting a nightmare tenant... It's just a risk that is taken with this type of tenant...
Good luck - hopefully you'll be one of those who have positive experiences with it... The guys I know who handle section 8 tenants always comment about how lucrative it is, even if it requires more attention...

Anonymous said...

I am on housing because I have MS. Because of "nightmare tenants", it is getting much harder to even find a decent place to live. I moved where I am at in Jan of 2006. It was great then but the owners sold the place to another company, and now there are so many people here that are loud, trashy, etc, I want to move but I have no idea where I can go. One bad apple ruins it for those of us who are decent tenants.

Shaun said...

Crystal, if you still read this blog, please check out my lasted post at http://shaunsre.blogspot.com/2008/12/full-disclosure.html

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