Section 8 Waiting List Openings in other Regions. Uh?

Should we cover Section 8 waiting list openings Nationwide?

We have been wrestling with this question for a while now! REIC is pretty connected to Section 8 Wait List openings in the Southeastern region, since a majority of our clients / readers are from South Florida. Should we care about other regions of the US concerning Section 8 Wait List Openings? YES! We should cover the whole US, Section 8 office by Section 8 office.

Here is our Justification!

Why is this important to our investors, blog readers and tenants? Miami Florida is the gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result, we have every nationality from these regions calling Miami, Florida their home. This does not mean they don't have relatives living in other parts of the United States.

Look at my background! I was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania but I am calling Miami, Florida my current home. The rest of my family lives in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, California, etc.

A Section 8 or Plan 8 Wait List opening in New Jersey may not be important to the folks living in Miami but maybe their relatives in New Jersey could act on this information. Word of Mouth, Baby!

Here are several other reasons we feel we should cover all the Section 8 or Plan 8 Wait list Openings:

• Section 8 Vouchers are Portable.
  • See our posting about Section 8 Portability.
• People don't like South Florida and want to move to another state or region.
• Family Issues like death, health, divorce, empty nest, etc.
• Better Jobs and Salaries.
• Economic Hardship.
• The Weather in South Florida! Hurricanes, Heat, Humidity…
• Competition for the available Section 8 Vouchers and Wait List Openings.

We are sure you can add several other reasons why you want to move away or to South Florida.

So in the future we will be announcing Section 8 Waiting List Openings throughout the United States.

If you hear about any Section 8 Waiting List Openings please contact us at our email address below. We could use your help!

Oh by the way, below is a Section 8 Wait list Opening:

• Arizona
  • Section 8 Wait List of Cochise County, Arizona is currently Open

So starting today, we will TRY to cover all the Section 8 Wait List openings Nationwide.

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Check out our new blog:
  • Section 8 Miami: http://www.section8mia.com
• Section 8 Power Point Slide Show on Slideshare.net
• A REIC blog posting with a Section 8 Podcast

Written by +Bob Burns.

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Going Nationwide Baby! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: sec8@planocho.com

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Real Estate Investors need to use an Action Plan.

There is a saying among Real Estate Investor's - "You Make Your Money when You Purchase the Property not When you Sell It."

There are so many things that can go wrong so it is important to make sure you buy the property right.

Smart Real Estate Investors need to develop an Action Plan before they are going to purchase an investment property. This plan should include the following:

• Identify a possible property for investment.
  • Make sure your SELLER is MOTIVATED to do the deal.
• Perform a market analysis.
  • What are going to be your carrying costs for the next 90 Days. Principal, Interest, Insurance, Taxes, Utilities, HOA fees....
  • After Repair Value ARV - What is the property worth after repairs. Look at the COMPS! Yes, the comparables.
  • Calculate your repair costs.
  • Calculate your Fair Market Rent FMR. See if the property is going to cash flow.
    • See previous posting and video about calculating Fair Market Rent FMR
• Secure Your funding for:
  • Purchasing the Asset.
  • Carrying Costs.
  • Repairs.
• Note: Don't forget to pay yourself for all this work you are doing!
• Make an OFFER based on the Maximum Allowable Offer MAO Rule, using ARV, Carrying and Repair Costs.
  • See previous MAO post at Using the MAO rule for determining your Investment Property Offer Price.
• What are you going to do with the asset? Develop an EXIT Strategy:
  • Flip the property for a profit or
  • Hold the property for Cash Flow.

This is the basic action plan which needs to be very fluid. Things change and you need to adapt.

Turnkey Property!

One of the more successful Action Plans we have used is to bundle a Section 8 or Plan Ocho tenant within the property FOR SALE. The tenant is part of the BUYER's Turnkey Package.

TURNKEY means the BUYER simply needs to turn the key to the front door and start making MONEY.

All the hard work has been done for the BUYER:

• Buying a Property that will Cash Flow.
• Rehabbing the property and brought up to Code.
• All utilities are functioning.
• Finding a reliable tenant.
  • We use Section 8 as a great resource for tenants because it is a very popular program for housing.
  • Section 8 Web Sites for listing Your Investment Property.
• Asset Protection strategy is already in place.
• Selling the Investment Property with minimal Closing Costs.
• Optional: Have it already furnished.

Investors should provide a turnkey solution for all their properties they plan to sell in the near future.

BUYERS like the idea of purchasing a property that comes bundled with a tenant.

Action Plans allow for Immediate Cash Flow and no Headaches!

Written by Bob Burns.

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Money in The Bank Baby! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: sec8@planocho.com

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Deerfield Beach Housing Authority (DBHA) Opens TheirSection 8 or Plan 8 Waiting List.

The Deerfield Beach Housing Authority (DBHA) will accept 500 preliminary Section 8 applications for the Program's Waiting List on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.

The Section 8 Wait List will only be available online at www.dbhaonline.org starting at 9:00 a.m. until 500 are submitted.

Any Section 8 submission that is not fully and accurately completed shall be void. Only one per household will be considered throughout the entire process. Anyone that submits more than ONE will be void.

NO TELEPHONE CALLS, FAXES, MAIL-INS, WALK-INS, E-MAILS, OR DROP OFF WILL BE ACCEPTED.

DBHA will only accept 500

Again, the preliminary waiting list will close once 500 applications are submitted online.

To qualify as an eligible family, the total household annual gross income must not exceed the very-low income limits, as shown below, for the household size.

Family Size:	1 Person	2 Persons	3 Persons	4 Persons
Very-Low Income	$25,100	$28,650	$32,250	$35,800

Family Size:	5 Persons	6 Persons	7 Persons	8 Persons
Very-Low Income	$38,700	$41,550	$44,400	$47,300

If you do not have computer access at home, you may go to a public library or any other place where computers are available to access this website to complete the application.

If you need reasonable accommodation for a special needs person, please contact the Center for Independent Living at 1-888-722-6400 or Deerfield Beach Housing Authority at 954-425-8449, five business days prior to the opening of the preliminary waiting list.

For the hearing impaired, please call TDD#1-800-955-8771.

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Deerfield Beach Housing Authority
• Procedures for Completing the Section 8 Online Preliminary Application PDF

Written by +Bob Burns.

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No Boundaries, Baby! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: sec8@planocho.com

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Did You Know a Section 8 or Plan Ocho Voucher is Portable?

While interviewing April Johnson from Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA I heard the term "Portability" being used in our conversation. I was familiar with transferring vouchers but I never heard the term portability being used. I decided to ask her what exactly did this term mean.

April mentioned that any tenant that had a Section 8 Voucher in good standing, could live in the jurisdiction of a housing authority anywhere in the United States that is administering a tenant-based (Section 8 Voucher) program including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

But there are certain guidelines and facts that you must be aware of:

• Don't take for granted that the rules are the same for each housing authority. Each PHA has its own rules, regulations and deadlines that you must follow.
• Fair Market Rent limits or payment standards may be different for each Public Housing Office PHA. Remember they are calculated by Zip codes.
• The utility allowance may be different and may affect the rent amount you pay. Florida utility bills are much higher than Puerto Rico. I know because I lived in both places.
• Rental subsidy standards may be different. I can recall the differences in subsidy payments from Miami-Dade to Homestead Offices. These offices are in the same county.
• The new housing authority will issue you a different voucher, which may change the size (number of bedrooms) that you maybe eligible for. I can't tell you how many times this issue would come up while discussing voucher transfers.
• If you decided to transfer you have to re-verify your income and do a background check. One of my tenants was kick out of the program because her son, not her, was caught dealing drugs. You may open a can of worms for yourself.
• If you are new to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, you may have a waiting period before you can transfer to another jurisdiction of a housing authority.
• If you decide to use the portability option of your voucher, make sure you contact your home office to start the paper work. This may take a while so give yourself some time.
• Oh yeah, you better have an idea of where you want to go! Your home office can't do much if you can't tell them where you are going. You may want to visit the new housing offices so you can get an idea what will be involved and GET contact information to present to your current HOME jurisdiction.
• By moving you are going to incur changes in your cash flows; security deposit, rental down payment, different tax structure, cost of living changes, insurances, education, transportation...on and on and on.

What does "Portability" have to do with real estate investing you ask? Miami-Dade Florida is a popular destination for voucher transfers and can be another channel in your marketing efforts to get tenants into your rental properties.

Do you have any experience with Section 8 voucher transfers? If so, tell us about it in the comments area below!

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Section 8 Web Page. One of our most popular pages!
• Learn how to calculate Fair Market Rent for investment properties.
• Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA Offices
• Housing Authority Of The City of Homestead Section 8 Plan Ocho Office

Written by +Bob Burns.

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No Fear Baby! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com

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Top 20 Most Common Reasons Why Units Fail Section 8 Inspections.

One of your hats that you wear as a real estate investor is being a landlord. As a landlord, your job is to maintain the properties and keep them rented.

Keeping your properties fully occupied throughout the year increases your cash flow and provides a better return on your investment ROI but can be a difficult task! The longer a Unit remains unoccupied the less ROI landlords are going to have.

Below are several channels available to landlords to find qualified tenants:

• Retail Market - Newspapers, Word of Mouth, Church, For Rent Signs on property, internet, etc...
• Multiple Listing Service MLS - Database Realtors use to find rental properties for their clients
• Section 8, Plan Ocho, Sec 8, Plan Eight, Plan 8, Section Eight - Government subsidized rental payment plan.

The more channels you have, the greater possibility of finding a qualified tenant for your unit. SPEED is essential for success. Any delay will hurt ROI.

Section 8 will eliminate a lot of the drawbacks of being a landlord but you have to follow HUD's guidelines to be successful.

One part of the guidelines is the unit or property must pass an interior and exterior inspection. If you fail the inspection, more delays and your ROI will be affected. Being prepared for the inspection will help make the rental transaction a smooth process.

From my experience with Section 8, below is a list of items that will fail a HUD inspection:

1. Smoke alarms missing or not working.
2. Lack of ventilation in bathroom.
3. Outlet covers missing or broken.
4. Infestation by bugs or vermin.
5. Absence of handrails where 4 or more consecutive steps.
6. Utilities disconnected (must be connected).
7. Hazards (i.e. tripping as a result of floor covering or exposed electrical wiring.
8. One window in each room must open and have a screen.
9. Chipping paint on the outside of the building – gutters, outside surfaces of building.
10. Hazardous hole or trash in the yard.
11. Door not sealed properly (light can be seen coming through).
12. No hot or cold running water.
13. All windows must have sash cords or balancers and must stay in the open position without assistance.
14. All ceilings must be at least 7 feet in height in areas used for living, sleeping, etc….
15. All steps to landing or basements have handrails.
16. Baths without windows must have power fan or gravity vents in high rise buildings.
17. Open electrical distribution box must be covered with appropriate cover.
18. Windows in bedroom too small and will not qualify as areas for sleeping.
19. Security bars (rejas) can’t be opened from the interior will not be allowed to remain.
20. All bedrooms must have a built in closet.

I provided pictures of potential failure points below. Can you identify what would cause a failed inspection item?

Click on each image to view a larger photo!
Have you any experience with Section 8 inspections? Share them with US!

Related Links, Blog Postings, Presentations or Articles:

• Our Section 8 telephone interview - Podcast
• Our Sec 8 Power Point presentation given to the Miami Real Estate Investor Association MREIA

Written by +Bob Burns. ####    

Yeah Baby! Real Estate Investor about.me/RobertKBurns Telephone #: 305-586-5280 email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com

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