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Saturday, October 8, 2011

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!


Section Failure Item Gap between Ground and House

Section Failure Item Chipped Paint

Section Failure Item Ceiling Stain

Section Failure Item Door Jam

Section Failure Item Water Heater Drain Pipe

Section Failure Item Circuit Breaker

Section Failure Item Rejas Door Lock
Have you any experience with Section 8 inspections? Share them with US!

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Written by +Bob Burns.
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Real Estate Investor
about.me/RobertKBurns
Telephone #: 305-586-5280
email: rkburns@investmentpropertiesmiamiflorida.com
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