Take advantage of HUD's early bidding window for foreclosure homes

Because HUD strives to make more Americans homeowners, an owner-occupant wishing to bid on a foreclosure home is offered an opportunity to bid on a given home during its first five days on the market. During this time, real estate investors are barred from bidding. After the first five days, however, investors are permitted to come out of the woodwork with a vengeance. Use this window to your advantage by getting into a foreclosure home quickly and beating the investors to the punch.

No Current Home to Sell?

First time homebuyers are not hindered in bidding on a foreclosure home by needing to unload another property before buying the home they are bidding on. This keeps many thousands of would-be homebuyers our of the foreclosure home arena. Again, use this to your advantage. Additionally, there is no such thing as a contingent contract when making an offer on a foreclosure home. The word "contingent" refers to the situation that homebuyers find themselves in when they currently own a home and must sell it first in order to buy another. When the seller accepts a contingency, the homebuyer has no obligation to purchase if their house does not sell. As a first time buyer, use the lack of contingent offers in the HUD foreclosure arena to your advantage.

If you do happen to be an owner of a home and are looking into the purchase of a HUD home, be content with the knowledge that every contract has a financial contingency and, therefore, you are indirectly not obligated to make the purchase unless you qualify to carry two mortgages at the same time which is highly irregular.

Termite Inspections and Foreclosure Home Repairs

Whereas most homes require a complete termite inspection and repairs paid for buy the homebuyer, the VA and HUD have both found it beneficial to cover these costs with regard to foreclosure homes so long as the homebuyer is financing the home with their respective help. If you are buying an insured property, FHA/HUD will pay for all necessary repairs required for the foreclosure home to meet minimum property standards (MPS). MPS is not the same as traditional FHA standards. MPS is considerably less rigorous. Do not let this scare you off, as termite testing and treatment are fairly standard and MPS should have no effect on the quality of termite treatment.

For the latest real estate foreclosure news and information, visit www.USHUD.com, America's only free foreclosure resource.