820+
Rental Units
$1.3M
Monthly Rental Income
1.8M+
Social Followers
500+
Students Mentored
Tom's Story
From wholesaling to 820+ Section 8 units
Tom Cruz is a self made Section 8 real estate investor, mentor, and founder of Section 8 Pro AI. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, he spent the first eight years of his life there before moving to the United States. He was raised in a middle class family with no trust fund, no real estate connections, and no silver spoon. Every dollar of his success has been earned through relentless execution and smart risk taking.
Tom graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) with a business degree. While in school, he took a position at UNCW's Technology Assistance Center. During college, he was already generating several thousand dollars per month on the side by building websites for small businesses in the local community. It was a slow, deliberate grind that taught him sales, service, and the power of consistent value creation long before he ever touched real estate.
After graduation, Tom launched into real estate wholesaling. That experience became the foundation for what came next: buying rental properties one at a time. He started with condos and scaled into single family homes, ultimately focusing on the Section 8 market. Today, his portfolio spans 820+ rental units across the Southeast and generates more than $1.3 million per month in rental income. With an online community exceeding 1.8 million followers, he has become one of the most influential voices in Section 8 investing.
Beyond real estate, Tom is a proud older brother to a younger sister and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. An avid traveler, he has visited over 35 countries. When he's not analyzing deals or mentoring students, you'll find him collecting Rolls Royces and exotic cars, or enjoying pickleball, wake surfing, and yachting on the weekends.
Through his mentorship program, Tom has helped hundreds of students, many still working full time jobs, purchase and manage their first cash flowing Section 8 properties. His mission is clear: make Section 8 investing accessible, profitable, and scalable for anyone willing to put in the work.
Tom firmly believes that generic video courses fail most people because everyone learns differently and starts from a different place. That's why Section 8 Pro AI was built differently. It combines powerful software driven deal analysis with personalized 1 on 1 mentorship, creating a system that adapts to each student, not the other way around.
The Journey
How Tom built the portfolio
2011
2011
Graduated from UNCW
Tom graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a degree in business.
2012
2012
Local Marketing Grind
Tom focused on growing his local marketing business. He didn't see much traction, but was able to support himself.
2013
2013
Discovered Wholesaling
Tom discovered real estate wholesaling and refocused his entire strategy on flipping distressed property contracts. This allowed him to make $5k to $7k per month, although it was very time intensive.
2014
2014
Testing Active Strategies
Tom used profits from wholesaling to try other real estate strategies such as Airbnb, BRRRR, and fix and flips. He discovered these strategies were too active and couldn't produce any real passive income.
2016
2016
First Rental Houses
Tom kept building his bank account so he could start buying rental houses. With $14k to $16k saved, he started buying cheap houses in the $110k to $125k range, using conventional loans along with seller financing to close his first few deals.
2018
2018
First Section 8 Rental
The $125k houses were too expensive and it was taking him too long to scale. So Tom tried to buy cheaper houses in the $50k to $60k range. The first house he bought turned out to be a Section 8 rental, and that's where his Section 8 trial and error started.
2019
2019
12 Doors and a 92 Unit Portfolio
Tom acquired 12 Section 8 houses in his first year. That was enough validation that this strategy worked, so he instantly started looking for partners to grow this BIG. This is where he bought his first 92 unit portfolio.
Read the deal announcement →2019 – 2022
2019 – 2022
Scaling Through COVID
Business was BOOMING during the COVID years. Tenants couldn't move out and rent income was guaranteed by the government. Tom focused on buying as many houses as possible while most investors were contracting their business.
2023 – Present
2023 – Present
815+ Doors, $1.3M / Month
Tom performed several cash out refinances, bought out his partners, and retained all the Section 8 rentals for himself. By the middle of 2026 he had 815+ single family residences across 4 states, netting $1,300,000 per month.
The Mission
Make Section 8 investing accessible to anyone
Tom's students range from 9-to-5 employees buying their first rental to foreign investors building portfolios remotely. The common thread: a proven Section 8 framework, AI driven deal analysis, and direct access to Tom.
81% of Tom's mentees close on their first property within 60 days of starting — and many keep scaling from there.
Direct Access
The Tom Cruz Method
Are You Ready To Build Your Section 8 Empire?
Work Directly With Tom Cruz
1 on 1 Mentorship
- Exclusive Guidance
- Clarity on Your Deals
- Roadmap Your Success
- Proprietary Section 8 AI Software Access
- Scale to New Levels
- Access to Cruz Control Property Management App