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Showing posts with label landlords. Show all posts
Showing posts with label landlords. Show all posts

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Homestead Housing Authority Miami-Dade County Florida New Section 8 Offices

Homestead no longer Strawberry Fields!

The Homestead Housing Authority in Miami-Dade County Florida has undergone some major changes since the real estate market began heating up several years ago. The City of Homestead enjoyed a good 10 years of expansion. Work force housing communities began springing up where strawberry fields, nurseries, orchards and farm land once occupied a majority of the acreage now developed. Major retailers like Wal-Mart, Nike and Home Depot, discovered that Homestead was the last stop for travelers and tourists before they entered the Florida Keys.

I discovered the Homestead Housing Authority back in 1998 when it was just a small office. I found the agency was very willing to work with Landlords and Real Estate Investors by making the Section 8 processing cycle very easy for owners and tenants. What I didn't find was a lot of investors or Land Lords using Section 8 or Plan Ocho as an additional marketing channel for finding tenants to occupy their investment properties in South Miami-Dade.

That was Then, This is NOW!

The Homestead Housing Authority has just completed a new building and road modifications to their facilities. HHA and the rest of Homestead has grown and caught up with the rest of Miami-Dade county.

During the recent real estate bust, investors have picked up bargin properties in Southern Dade County. If you are a Landlord or a property owner looking for tenants, the Homestead Housing Authority HHA is one source for potential tenants in Southern Miami-Dade County.

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Written by Blog posting Author +Bob Burns.
 
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Telephone #: 305-586-5280
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Sunday, March 4, 2012

Florida's Hurricane Season and FEMA's Hurricane Preparedness Widget

Florida's Hurricane Season


One of the biggest pains being a real estate investor in Florida is getting prepared for Hurricane Season. Due to the amount of work, we wait to the last minute before placing the hurricane shutters onto our rental property's windows.

As a result of waiting, problems are going to arise like:

 

  • Going to Home Depot.
  • Gathering Supplies, if available like:
    • Make sure you buy gloves PLEASE. I can't count the times we have been hurt just because we don't have gloves on.
    • Sun Block, Hats, Sunglasses, etc. Florida SUN is brutal. I find that the weather is beautiful just before the storm arrives. Sort of like "The calm before the storm."
    • Buy Wasp spray! As you are installing shutters on the second floor of your investment property you will find out why you need the spray! The EASY way or the HARD way.
    • A SPEED tool that allows you to secure the screws or wing nuts onto the shutter. You will thank me later!
    • Ladders of various sizes. Buy at least one that adjusts to 40 feet made out of fiberglass, NOT ALUMINUM. Why? Hint: High tension electrical cables.
    • Chain Saw and gas for cutting tree branches away from the property and for use after the storm.
  • Waiting in long checkout lines.
  • Loading tools and supplies onto your vehicle. Like getting your ladders onto the truck.
  • Driving to the property! OK for local properties but what if the asset is in another county? At one point I had several properties in Sarasota, Broward, Miami Beach and Miami-Dade.
  • Traffic – People getting out of the storm's path.
  • Finding HELP! Try installing these shutters alone! Now try it on 15 other properties. See what I mean.

You are going to work harder than you ever did before. You' ll be so tired that you want the storm to blow away your portfolio of rental properties so you won't have to ever do this again.

At last the second, the storm veer's and never arrives.

You see how crazy it can get?

Oh, by the way, if for some reason you didn't get the shutters up on time and there is damage as a result of the storm, the insurance company will not pay. Just thought I would mention that!

FEMA Hurricane Preparedness Widget

One of the reason I was inspired to write this post, I found a little widget from FEMA that provides you information about getting prepared for the hurricane season or any other disaster. I have installed this widget on all my sites to help my readers make informed decisions. See the widget sample below.

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  • See our new Section 8 or Plan 8 Miami Florida Blog. A Section 8 or Plan 8 blog for real estate investors and tenants in Miami Florida. This blog is designed to provide content for real estate investors, landlords and potential tenants who wish to participate in the HUD program.

Written by +Bob Burns.
 
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Real Estate Investor
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Telephone #: 305-586-5280
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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!

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Written by +Bob Burns.
 
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Telephone #: 305-586-5280
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Saturday, September 10, 2011

Miami Dade Housing Choice Voucher Program Building

HUD's fourth largest Section Eight or Plan Ocho program in the nation is managed by Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA. It is a management nightmare! I remember the old Coral Way offices and waiting hours to see a Landlord case worker. The county decided to outsource the management of Miami-Dade Public Housing Agency MDPHA's Housing Choice Voucher Program. Miami-Dade awarded a multi-year contract to Quadel Consulting. They are responsible for:

  • Section 8 Voucher Program
  • Section 8 Home Ownership Program
  • MDPHA Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program
This allows the MDPHA to save money and increase processing efficiencies.

Landlords, this is a great program to use for renting your investment properties. When a unit becomes empty, the clock starts ticking. You are losing MONEY! You need to lease this unit as soon as possible! Adding Section 8 or Plan 8 to your marketing funnel, increases the probability of finding a qualified tenant.

I put to together a simple video below that shows you the outside of the Miami Dade Housing Choice Voucher Program Building. Go down there NOW and set up an appointment to discuss the Landlord Program. Address is: 7400 NW 19th Street, Bay H, Miami, Florida 33126. Don't expect an appointment right away. They will schedule you via a 3-4 week window. Sorry, it is what it is!

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Written by +Bob Burns.
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