Rehabbing Detroit Houses into Section 8 Housing

**richie** · November-01-11, 09:36 AM

hello,
i have seen houses in Detroit for only a couple of thousand dollars on ebay.
i'm wondering is it possible to buy one [[or 2) and section 8 them?
are you allowed to be a section 8 landlord if your not a US citizen?
any help would be greatful.
thanks

**Blueidone** · November-01-11, 09:55 AM

In order to rent them out to people who have Section 8 vouchers, you will have to have the property inspected and approved by a MSHDA-approved housing agent. My guess is that any house you can by for a couple of thousand dollars will take lots of work to be approved for Section 8. I cannot answer the question about being a citizen.

**richie** · November-01-11, 12:49 PM

can anyone do repair works? or do you have to be registered?

**Gannon** · November-01-11, 01:02 PM

I am quite certain that anyone doing anything that will require federal government approval will also need to insure that all of their contractors follow the new very restrictive "materials handling" regulations recently written by the thugs at the EPA. It is a huge reach into our lives, but not yet big news. I cannot remember the specifics, only that all plumbers and electricians and other residential contractors need to go to extraordinary lengths when working in existing structures that may contain lead and asbestos and other old-school materials.

**DetroitPlanner** · November-01-11, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by richie

can anyone do repair works? or do you have to be registered?

you might want to get together with this guy and compare notes:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...-for-Free-Rent

**jolla** · November-01-11, 02:36 PM

Anyone can do the repair work to get it up to snuff because until you get the house inspected and approved by a MSHDA-approved housing agent, it's just your house to which you are [[mostly) free to do whatever you like.

I don't know if this is true, but someone told me the four-year max on cash benefits applies to Section 8, so the days of getting a tenant and keeping them forever may be over.

**richie** · November-01-11, 03:15 PM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

you might want to get together with this guy and compare notes:
http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthr...-for-Free-Rent

no, what i meant was, i am an electrician[[brit) and would come over and do a lot of work myself- would i be breaking any law or code by doing it myself.

**ndavies** · November-01-11, 04:18 PM

To update the house you are supposed to pull building permits. A homeowner can pull building permits for their own house without being licensed. You must be licensed to pull a building permit to work on someone elses property.

OK since no one else wants to tell you. This is a bad Idea without a ton of local knowledge. There is a reason these houses are so cheap. Don't you think the local developers would be doing this if it was profitable?

Section 8 housing can be lucrative in stable neighborhoods. Detroit is not one of those places. Rents are too low and carrying costs far too high. You will be paying outragous property taxes on habitable homes. You're insurance rates are going to be sky high.

Building quality also does not come anywhere near the building standards in Britain. Without dedicated maintenance, a 75 year home in the US is near it's end of life. 99% of all residential homes in Detroit have a wood structure not the brick and concrete block you see over there. That means a old home here needs far more work than one in Britain.

You must also be willing to live in the house while you're rehabbing it. In Detroit they will strip the new stuff out faster than you can put it in. You will have to be willing to move in and babysit that house if you ever have to replace tennants.

I have a friend who inherited several section 8 houses in and around the city. In Less than 5 years he has dumped the Detroit homes and kept the suburban homes. One home he gave to his loyal tennant, another had a mortgage and he gave that back to the bank. A third he let go on tax foreclosure since he was unable/unwilling to keep replacing the furnace and plumbing in an empty rental.

Another problem with housing values here is the regions population is shrinking, we have a huge surplus of homes and not enough people to live in them. It's one of the reasons home prices have been stagnant [[compared to the rest of the US) here for the last 10 years and absolutely collapsed here in the last 5 years.

And if you think my characterization of the economics is harsh, It could also cost you your life. An australian landlord was killed just this past May, Trying to do exactly what you want to do.
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...ed-20110508-rs

I'm also a Brit, Born in Wales, I've Lived in the Detroit and the region for the last 2/3rds of my life.

**riviera** · November-01-11, 04:35 PM

Section 8 tenants are living like royalty these days now that rents have gone down. Why live in a slum when the govt will pay for you to live in a 3500 sq ft mcmansion in Las Vegas?

**richie** · November-01-11, 04:36 PM

many thanks for that, i'm also from Wales- valleys!

**Meddle** · November-01-11, 05:57 PM

I think about the very last thing the city needs is more non-resident, manage-from-a-distance landlords. If you're serious, buy one, emigrate, move into it, then go from there.

**Lowell** · November-01-11, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by Meddle

I think about the very last thing the city needs is more non-resident, manage-from-a-distance landlords. If you're serious, buy one, emigrate, move into it, then go from there.

Hey if you want to fix something up, accept the risk and spend money in town, I say welcome.

I am genuinely curious on how you came to know about Detroit, the cheap houses, section 8 and if you think there is profit in it.

Is someone doing late night TV info-mercials on Detroit housing?

**Planner3357** · November-01-11, 09:36 PM

That's just what the city needs....more section 8 housing.

**ndavies** · February-22-12, 09:43 AM

Hopefully the original poster didn't get caught up in this scam.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...text|FRONTPAGE

bartock · February-22-12, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by Meddle

I think about the very last thing the city needs is more non-resident, manage-from-a-distance landlords. If you're serious, buy one, emigrate, move into it, then go from there.

The landlords aren't always the problem.

**SWMAP** · February-22-12, 09:59 AM

Wow - very clear information on the OP's initial question on getting Section 8 authorization can be found in today's article cited above:

" Any housing investment claiming it can guarantee a Section 8 housing tenant should raise red flags, said Eugene Jones, executive director of the city of Detroit's Housing Commission."It just doesn't work that way. It's a lengthy process for any property to be qualified, and there is no guarantee that the property will be chosen," Jones said.
While the city of Detroit has 6,000 housing vouchers for people under the Section 8 housing program and a waiting list of 40,000 people, he said, "there are not many people with Section 8 housing vouchers that are looking for residences."

**ct_alum** · February-22-12, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Gannon

I am quite certain that anyone doing anything that will require federal government approval will also need to insure that all of their contractors follow the new very restrictive "materials handling" regulations recently written by the thugs at the EPA. It is a huge reach into our lives, but not yet big news. I cannot remember the specifics, only that all plumbers and electricians and other residential contractors need to go to extraordinary lengths when working in existing structures that may contain lead and asbestos and other old-school materials.

Yeah, Gannon. The nerve of those "EPA thugs" making sure that asbestos doesn't become airborne and lead doesn't get eaten by children. Another "huge reach", even though you don't know the specifics. You are quite a piece of work.