HUD Housing

Turn HUD housing into an investment property
By Maria St. Louis-Sanchez Many landlords are often afraid of renting to tenants who are receiving HUD housing benefits. They fear that the low-income tenants may not stick around for long or that the property they purchase may be in disrespair. However, the federal government offers several benefits to investors who buy the property and put it on a HUD housing list for low-income renters.

Before you jump into HUD housing for your next investment property, make sure you do your homework first. You will want to:

1. Get HUD housing information from the federal government and see how you can benefit including tax breaks and grants.

2. Become a certified HUD housing provider so you can rent your property to people with rent vouchers that will be paid directly to you.

3. Find HUD housing available where you live and assess the need of affordable housing.

Find HUD housing to buy for your next investment property

For your investment to make a profit, you will want to find a property that is a deal and also make sure that there is a market for affordable housing where you live. Consider using a realtor to help point out some of the best available properties or use a HUD housing directory to do the legwork yourself.
Try:  Find available HUD homes through HUD Foreclosed.com and to get the latest information available, sign up for HUD's multifamily property disposition mailing lists. This will let you know about available investor properties as soon as they become available. To check out the affordable housing market in the area, check out HUDUser.org which will analyze and break down local housing statistics.

Search HUD housing information for tax breaks and grants

Before using your own money for your HUD housing investment, search out as many tax breaks and grants as you can find to help you pay for it. There are a lot of options for landlords who plan on renting to people who qualify for low-income housing.
Try:  Affordable Housing Finance Magazine has a state-by-state contact list for tax credits and tax-exempt bonds. Fannie Mae has solutions for HUD buyers who want to purchase multifamily properties. Check out Grants.gov for available housing grants for HUD properties.

Become a certified HUD housing provider

If you become a certified HUD housing provider, it means you can rent your property to people who qualify for affordable housing assistance. Each month they are allotted a rent voucher which is paid directly to you. If you become a certified provider, you won't have many problems keeping tenants in your investment property.
Try:  HUD's website has a section dedicated to landlords who want to become certified providers. Section8Bible.com has tips and tricks for landlords who receive the Section 8 assistance vouchers from tenants. MassResources.org has a landlord guide to Section 8 on its website.

• Make sure you always have your HUD housing property thoroughly inspected before you buy. Some of the properties available have so much damage that it won't make sense to buy.
• Apply for as many HUD housing grants as you can find. Free money is always better than loans.