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Detroit · Section 8 · Rent Growth

Same unit. $800 then. $950 now, and the government pays all of it.

Five years, three tenancies, and a rent that climbed with every professional turn, ending in a 100% voucher-paid Section 8 lease at the highest rent the unit has ever commanded. This is what disciplined turns actually buy.

PROPERTY: 17xxx Bentler, Detroit, MI · MANAGED: Mar 2021 – Present

+18.8%

Rent Growth

$950/mo

Current Rent

100%

Voucher-Paid

$40,133

Rent Collected

Tenancies Placed

Rent at Takeover

$800/mo

Rent Today

$950/mo

Income Source

Section 8 HAP

Tenant Rent Share

The Situation

Most landlords treat a turn as a cost. It's actually the only raise your property ever gets.

When Great Lakes PMG took over 17xxx Bentler, a condo unit on Detroit's west side owned by a hands-off private owner, it rented for $800 a month. A fine number in 2021. A money-losing one by 2026, when comparable units and voucher payment standards had moved far past it.

The difference between $800 forever and $950 today wasn't luck or a hot market. It was three professionally executed turns, each one scoped to what the next tenant class and the housing authority's inspection actually required, and each one re-leased at a higher rent than the last.

"Every turn re-leased higher than the last: $800 → $900 → $950. The make-ready isn't an expense. It's the raise."

The final step was the one most owners never get to: qualifying the unit for a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher tenant at $950/month with the voucher covering 100% of the rent. That rent arrives from the housing commission, not a paycheck, making it the most durable income stream a Detroit rental can produce.

The Execution

Five years, three tenancies, three rent increases.

March 2021

GL PMG takes over. Section 8 turn, first tenant placed at $800

A make-ready brought the unit to inspection standard and placed Household 1, who stayed three full years.

Spring 2024

Turn #2. Re-leased at $900 (+12.5%)

Drywall, paint, mechanicals, and a full make-ready. Household 2 placed within months at a higher rent.

Winter 2025–26

Turn #3. Full make-ready to voucher standard

Tub reglaze, drywall and paint throughout, smoke detectors, deep clean, roughly $3,700 of scoped work aimed squarely at the housing inspection.

June 2026, Today

Leased at $950/month, 100% voucher-paid

Household 3 placed under a signed HAP contract. Rent is paid in full by the housing commission. The unit's highest rent ever.

The Numbers

What the turns cost, and what they bought.

Actual figures from the tenant ledgers and repair invoices across the full management period.

Income Produced

Household 1Feb 2021 – Feb 2024 · $800/mo · 3-year tenancy	$29,200
Household 2Aug 2024 – Jan 2026 · $900/mo	$9,350
Household 3 · currentJun 2026 – present · $950/mo · 100% voucher-paid	$1,583
Total Rent Collected	$40,133

Invested in the Asset

Repairs & materialsPlumbing, furnace, drywall, upkeep · 2021–2026	$4,555
Three property turnsEach one scoped, executed, and re-leased higher	$4,300
Total Maintenance & Turns	$8,855

The 2025–26 make-ready cost roughly $3,700 and did two things at once: reset the unit to its highest-ever rent, and moved that rent onto a HAP contract paid 100% by the housing commission — $11,400 a year that no longer depends on anyone's paycheck.

Market Context

Voucher rent is the strongest dollar in Detroit real estate.

Housing Choice Voucher payment standards have risen sharply across Wayne County, but only inspection-ready units capture them.

+18.8%

Rent growth on this unit in five years under GL PMG management, from $800 to $950 a month.

The current tenant's share of rent. The housing commission pays 100%, income that doesn't depend on anyone's paycheck.

Inspection-ready

Voucher rents are only available to units that pass. Knowing exactly what the inspector needs is what turns a make-ready into a raise.

The GL PMG Playbook

How a turn becomes a rent increase.

Anyone can paint a unit. The return comes from knowing what to spend on, and what it unlocks.

Scope the turn to the inspection

Every make-ready is scoped against the housing authority checklist. Spend where it unlocks voucher rent, skip what just looks nice.

Execute with in-house crews

Our own contractors do the work at itemized, transparent pricing, a full turn for thousands less than retail contractor quotes.

Run the Section 8 paperwork cold

RFTA, inspection scheduling, HAP contract. We've processed hundreds. The unit goes from vacant to voucher-paid without the owner touching a form.

Re-lease at the new standard, every time

Each turn resets the rent to what the unit is now worth, not what the last lease happened to say. $800 → $900 → $950.

Is your rental still earning its 2021 rent?

Great Lakes PMG manages Detroit rentals to grow their income, not just collect it. This is one of 800+ real-estate deals we have managed over the past 20 years.

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Great Lakes Property Management Group, LLC · Detroit, Michigan · greatlakespmg.com