HUD Homes

[pinion]

My wife and I are looking at a HUD home that we are interested in purchasing. We can't quite afford the current asking price but we are pretty close. I know real estate is different everywhere but does anyone have any general HUd advice? What kind of offers they like best or anything like that? Thanks!

[ho'ard]

They have very little incentive to sell the home at a reasonable price. They typically require a level of work and investment that only makes sense for a pro rehabber that does the volume (or knows the tricks) to turn it around cheaply and sit on it while asking way too much. They've made sure you won't have a penny below market value invested in it once it's in move-in condition.
Make it a point to stop seeing this home as a "bargain" because it's a HUD home. It's more than you want to pay simply because they set the price too high. Doesn't matter what you offer, they'll counter with the price they've set, which is probably 3% or 5% below "list". There's a reason these things sit on the market for years. You can probably get a better deal on the MLS.

[mattkime]

>>They typically require a level of work and investment that only makes sense for a pro rehabber

Which is essentially forbidden since you're required to make the building your primary residence.

[ho'ard]

[quote mattkime]>>They typically require a level of work and investment that only makes sense for a pro rehabber

Which is essentially forbidden since you're required to make the building your primary residence.
Maybe so, but in the past when I've been interested in HUD homes I've found they end up getting rehabbed eventually and flipped quickly. Apparently fairly easy to "work" the system.

[mattkime]

Ah, I stand corrected, here we go...

>>An owner-occupant, who intends to buy a HUD home as his or her primary residence, usually has priority over other buyers. However, this priority expires after a period of time and the real estate becomes available to other qualified buyers.

[pinion]

I'm told that for the first week owner/occupant has first dibs on the bidding but then after that week investors can come in and bid. If no owner/occupants hit the number they want they let the investor bids come in.

[blusubaru]

We tried to get a former HUD home two weeks ago. It was corporate owned, which to best our realestate agent could tell, meant that a company bought an employee out of their mortgage to move them. The asking price was waaaaaaay low considering the size of lot, location and sq ft, but by law a house has to stay on the market for three days. They received several offers OVER the asking price and it sold quickly.