Why the “What if I Can’t Find a Renter?” Fear is Completely Unfounded

One of the top reasons people who people who hear a solid plan of how to get into real estate are hesitant, is worry that nobody will apply to live in their property or that they’ll get stuck in a cycle of tenants that stop paying. This is understandable because people hear horror stories or are simply skeptical; but the U.S. federal government has a solution that actually works. Sure there is red tape and sometimes tedious inspections, but the money comes in like clockwork and there’s a long line of tenants if for some unlikely reason yours moves out. The average American truly can become wealthy like a big business, slowly courtesy of our Uncle Sam. Here’s what I mean:

“The housing choice voucher program (more commonly known as Section 8) is the federal government’s major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market.” –HUD website. Tenants whom are accepted into the program are tasked with finding an apartment on their own and a lot of landlords will not take these vouchers. There’s a cultural bias that lower income folks will cause property damage or have excessive police activity. The local housing department sends inspectors, some of whom are very strict every year, or sooner if the tenant request, and payments can be stopped if maintenance issues aren’t fixed. Also there is a cap on how much Section 8 will pay based on the local Fair Market Rent, enough to pay for a lower to average quality apartment but not enough for the fancy buildings in the nice part of town.

Since tenants new to the program quickly learn how difficult finding a place to take them is, the “I love Section 8” landlord crowd sees that once participants find someplace quality to live, they stay and follow the rules to remain in good standing. Proper screening can help landlords to figure out whom is most likely to take pride in keeping their home clean and functional. Also a lot of Section 8 tenants require some professional assistance to live on their own, so somebody will be there to stop any mess from happening.