Purchasing a HUD Foreclosure Home

One of the different types of government owned property is a HUD Foreclosure. The homes offered through the HUD foreclosure procedure is offered to low and medium income families but you must qualify to receive them. The general public must already be accepted for a loan to bid on these HUD Foreclosure homes. Though anyone who meets the loan requirements can qualify for a HUD Foreclosure home, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will give priority to prospect homeowners who intend to live in the houses they purchase. They also give priority to teachers, emergency technicians, law enforcement officers, and firefighters in order to relocate to neighborhoods being upgraded by the HUD Foreclosure program.

When you purchase a HUD foreclosure home you are purchasing the property in whatever shape it comes in. However, the HUD foreclosure program offers relief by pricing the homes very low, helping with financial aid for purchasing and closing costs, and helping with the cost for repairs. Since HUD foreclosure homes are sold at auction, the financial aid that you require for purchasing and for the upkeep of your home will be added to the bidding price.

In order to participate in a government HUD Foreclosure auction you will need to show a letter of loan preapproval from your issuing bank. This letter should be valid for a period of sixty days. You should give the pre-approved letter to the real estate agent that has been authorized as a qualified government approved lender. You can find HUD foreclosure home auctions listed by state http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/i_want_to/avoid_foreclosure at their government website, or you can get the listings through the authorized government real estate agent who will actually be doing the bidding for you as well. The real estate agent may have other helpful HUD foreclosure information to give you in addition to the auction information.

By looking into the previous HUD foreclosure sales, you will have a better idea of the condition and type of property offered in your area as well as the usual bidding prices.

Boosting your ability to procure a conventional bank loan

Even though the HUD, which is the Department of Housing and Urban Development, does not issue the loans to obtain these houses, what they will do is insure the lender against default of payment on your part. Being backed up by government money will put the bank more at ease and in turn they will be more willing to offer you a prime loan with minimum down payment and a less than perfect credit rating. They know that if you default the government will pay the loan in question.

In turn, the bank will issue an appraisal for the home you are intending to buy to make sure it meets minimum housing standards, for both house and HUD purposes, it is marketable (not all homes are in a condition in which they can be sold such as condemned property) and it will most importantly give you and estimation of the value of the home. This procedure said to benefit the lender will also benefit the borrower in the sense that it gives you a guideline for bidding purposes. However, borrowers also need to have a home inspection done to know how much their new property is worth when factoring in such things as fixer up costs; refurbishing, repairs, maintenance and add on costs.

HUD foreclosure homes are a profitable investment for the homebuyer even when you factor in the costs for repair. These houses are sold well below market price to account for the repairs that will be needed to upkeep the property.