Landlord Shmandlord

I spoke with the Section 8 inspector, and he was very reasonable.

It turns out that the township code was recently changed, and that is why I need to fix the wiring in the basement. He just wants the visible wire properly replaced, which will have to be done by an electrician. He also gave me a very generous timeline.

Regarding the paint, I don’t have to scrape and repaint all exterior wood like the sheet said, just the areas that need it.

Regarding the pipe, he was also very reasonable, saying that I could just properly cap it.

He also asked if I could call back Monday to schedule inspections of my other apartments, which is required by the township every two years. All of the remaining inspections will most likely be sometime in December.

Looks like I spoke too soon when I said that the Section 8 inspector hasn’t made my life a living hell.

I don’t think that I’m on the guy’s bad side, but I just got the letter about this year’s required fixes. The list isn’t pretty, including:

• Replace visible wiring in the basement (the wiring hasn’t changed since I’ve received a CO).
• Remove an unused natural gas pipe in the basement. (What? This has also been there for years.)
• Scrape and repaint porch, and all visible wood outside. (It really just needs patching, not a full scrape/repaint).

There are a few other requests, but the rest are understandable. I’m trying to get in touch with the inspector to see why all of the sudden he found things that have been there for years.

I will let you know what happens.

Do-it-yourself landlord has a great post here about Section 8. I have been dealing with Section 8 for over two years, and have no real complaints. Here are a few things that I learned:

• The inspector always lists at least a few things that need to be done. Usually these things are extremely minor, but need to be done in order for the rent payments to continue. While I haven’t done so myself, I’d imagine that if you get on the inspector’s bad side, they can make your life very difficult.
• When I’ve requested a rent increase from Section 8, I’ve accompanied the request with comps from the local circulation. The rents of these comps are always a little higher than what I’m asking. To date they have not denied any of my requests.
• The rents are near the top the fair-market value range.
• Rent is always in your mail box, on time.
• Section 8 tenants have an extra incentive to take care of your place and pay their rent on time: if they don’t, they lose out of the free money. This is powerful = )