If there is a heaven on earth, it is called home. Moving out of our parent’s house and starting our own family is one of the biggest steps we take as we grow up. Raising a family is not just an emotional struggle, but it also requires financial assistance as well. With inflation rapidly rising, the majority of the families in the United States are in survival mode. Sadly, almost every family in the low-income tier is struggling as the taxes and soaring rental prices burden them. In the past, many laws have been passed and various initiatives have been taken to help this particular sector of American society in order to overcome their situation and aid them financially. Of course, not all of them have been successful; however, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is one project that is reaching out to the residents belonging to the lower class and facilitating them with their rent.

Section 8 housing vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs), which receive funding from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). With Section 8 vouchers, low-income families pay a portion – 10% to 20% – of their rent, and the rest is paid by the government of the United States of America. Though this program is a remarkable step to help those in need, some kind of criteria and specific procedures need to be followed to become eligible for this program. In a bid to get a better understanding of how Section 8 works and has affected the real estate business, we got in touch with Section 8 expert Tom Cruz.

A specialist in all the branches under Section 8 and real estate investor, Tom Cruz (@tcruznc on social media platforms) has acquired over 400 rental properties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio. Moreover, he has spent over nine years getting these properties through the Section 8 Program. Not only has he secured over $25 million in commercial and creative financing deals, but has also built an efficient property management team to scale his portfolio aggressively. In fact, he is known for his coaching and financial genius approach to investing in Section 8 properties.

Originating from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Tom Cruz started his journey by wholesaling distressed properties and using the income from his marketing side hustle to buy rental units. He started by purchasing one condo after he graduated college. Later, he started reinvesting the cash flow and continued to buy 1-2 condos per month. When he saw that HOA (homeowners association) communities negatively impacted monthly cash flow, he decided to pivot to single-family properties. One of the first rental SFH (single family homes) units that he bought was $55,000 and had a tenant paying $1,350/month. 

Tom Cruz always thought buying and selling was the root of the real estate business until he discovered how much he could earn through rents. He shared, “I thought this was very unusual, earning thousands of dollars through the rent in a low-value house. I soon discovered how they were earning this much rent, and the answer was surprising to me; it was Section 8.” Tom went on to say, “It was the federal government paying the big portion of rental payments, and they are house value agnostics. From that point forward, I bought dozens of Section 8 rental units by myself. Soon I begin to partner with other investors and start scaling my property acquisition & management business.” Ever since, there has been no looking back. He has been buying as many Section 8 properties as possible and even consulting about them.

Tom’s largest single portfolio purchase was 92 units for $6,100,000 back in 2018. Two years later, he sold it t for $10,200,000 after re-occupying the portfolio with higher rent value Section 8 tenants. Having nine years of experience and in-depth knowledge about this program, Tom Cruz has been creating ripples in the real estate market. Last year he founded Section 8 Pros, LLC, an educational company, which teaches people how to buy Section 8 rental units, how to manage them, an how to grow their portfolio as quickly as Tom did. 

Tom Cruz is quite popular in the online community as the “Section 8 Guy” because of his social media influence. In this post-pandemic world, where fuel prices, food and basic necessities have skyrocketed, we all could use some help, and through the Section 8 program, the tenant and landlord can benefit both. Tom likes to give back to his community and assist those in need through his courses as well as his social media presence. It is Tom Cruz’s mission to help new and experienced investors in creating a predictable and guaranteed cash flow via Section 8 rental properties. And he is doing his best to educate new investors and advise them about intelligent real estate investments!  You can find his teachings on various social media websites under the handle @tcruznc.

If there is a heaven on earth, it is called home. Moving out of our parent’s house and starting our own family is one of the biggest steps we take as we grow up. Raising a family is not just an emotional struggle, but it also requires financial assistance as well. With inflation rapidly rising, the majority of the families in the United States are in survival mode. Sadly, almost every family in the low-income tier is struggling as the taxes and soaring rental prices burden them. In the past, many laws have been passed and various initiatives have been taken to help this particular sector of American society in order to overcome their situation and aid them financially. Of course, not all of them have been successful; however, the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is one project that is reaching out to the residents belonging to the lower class and facilitating them with their rent.

Section 8 housing vouchers are administered locally by public housing agencies (PHAs), which receive funding from the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). With Section 8 vouchers, low-income families pay a portion – 10% to 20% – of their rent, and the rest is paid by the government of the United States of America. Though this program is a remarkable step to help those in need, some kind of criteria and specific procedures need to be followed to become eligible for this program. In a bid to get a better understanding of how Section 8 works and has affected the real estate business, we got in touch with Section 8 expert Tom Cruz.

A specialist in all the branches under Section 8 and real estate investor, Tom Cruz (@tcruznc on social media platforms) has acquired over 400 rental properties in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Ohio. Moreover, he has spent over nine years getting these properties through the Section 8 Program. Not only has he secured over $25 million in commercial and creative financing deals, but has also built an efficient property management team to scale his portfolio aggressively. In fact, he is known for his coaching and financial genius approach to investing in Section 8 properties.

Originating from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, Tom Cruz started his journey by wholesaling distressed properties and using the income from his marketing side hustle to buy rental units. He started by purchasing one condo after he graduated college. Later, he started reinvesting the cash flow and continued to buy 1-2 condos per month. When he saw that HOA (homeowners association) communities negatively impacted monthly cash flow, he decided to pivot to single-family properties. One of the first rental SFH (single family homes) units that he bought was $55,000 and had a tenant paying $1,350/month. 

Tom Cruz always thought buying and selling was the root of the real estate business until he discovered how much he could earn through rents. He shared, “I thought this was very unusual, earning thousands of dollars through the rent in a low-value house. I soon discovered how they were earning this much rent, and the answer was surprising to me; it was Section 8.” Tom went on to say, “It was the federal government paying the big portion of rental payments, and they are house value agnostics. From that point forward, I bought dozens of Section 8 rental units by myself. Soon I begin to partner with other investors and start scaling my property acquisition & management business.” Ever since, there has been no looking back. He has been buying as many Section 8 properties as possible and even consulting about them.

Tom’s largest single portfolio purchase was 92 units for $6,100,000 back in 2018. Two years later, he sold it t for $10,200,000 after re-occupying the portfolio with higher rent value Section 8 tenants. Having nine years of experience and in-depth knowledge about this program, Tom Cruz has been creating ripples in the real estate market. Last year he founded Section 8 Pros, LLC, an educational company, which teaches people how to buy Section 8 rental units, how to manage them, an how to grow their portfolio as quickly as Tom did. 

Tom Cruz is quite popular in the online community as the “Section 8 Guy” because of his social media influence. In this post-pandemic world, where fuel prices, food and basic necessities have skyrocketed, we all could use some help, and through the Section 8 program, the tenant and landlord can benefit both. Tom likes to give back to his community and assist those in need through his courses as well as his social media presence. It is Tom Cruz’s mission to help new and experienced investors in creating a predictable and guaranteed cash flow via Section 8 rental properties. And he is doing his best to educate new investors and advise them about intelligent real estate investments!  You can find his teachings on various social media websites under the handle @tcruznc.