If you are an investor in Section 8 housing or have some inventory that could fit this mold, the news coming out of the Democratic Congress may have some good stuff for you. Maxine Waters has introduced a bill called the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act which would create 100,000 new Section 8 vouchers over the next 5 years at a cost to the taxpayers of 2.4 billion dollars.

If this goes through, there will be a surge in demand for housing that caters to Section 8 renters and creates a nice little business for those who are willing to work with the government. This bill still needs to be passed and signed, but the chances of it getting passed are the greatest in the past 10 years.

The Washington Post ran an editorial in favor of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act today, so the buzz in the beltway is gaining speed and it could be a hot topic in the coming days. As we all watch other issues in the housing market never forget to keep an eye on Washington as they have the ability to throw an amazing amount of money at a problem and create great opportunities for those willing to partake of them.

The good news is that for the first time in years, there is a prospect that Congress will address these needs. A bill passed by the House this month called the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act contains mostly technical, though helpful, provisions: It changes the formula for how funds are distributed to housing authorities to achieve greater efficiency (last year $1.4 billion in Section 8 vouchers went unused); it allows a family to use a voucher as a down payment on a first-time home purchase; and it simplifies procedures for safety inspections, rent calculations and other aspects of the housing program.
Perhaps most important, the bill is likely to reduce the Section 8 voucher waiting list. It does this by creating 100,000 new vouchers over five years — allowing a 5 percent boost in the nearly 2 million households now receiving assistance — and by increasing funding for the family self-sufficiency program, which essentially assigns case managers to help families attain long-term living wages. The bill also requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to more stringently evaluate both the family self-sufficiency program and another program that deregulates certain housing authorities (including those in the District and Baltimore).via washingtonpost.com

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