Many people may think of HUD homes as trashed houses in the inner city that need a lot of work and are not suited for owner occupants. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Between 40% and 50% of HUD homes are in the suburbs and were built less than 10 years ago. Most of them are in good condition and a home owner can move in without major repairs.

For frugal buyers HUD properties offer an excellent opportunity to get into a pretty home way below market value. In addition, buyers can take advantage of favorable financing terms underwritten by the US government.

Last August HUD selected new asset managers. These companies market and sell HUD properties for the government. In October the new firms took over from the previous managers and implemented 3 major changes set forth by HUD.

1. HUD created a new website www.HUDHomeStore.com for listing HUD homes nationwide. There you can search HUD houses by state, county, zip code, list price and other criteria. 2. Timelines for submitting HUD offers have changed in favor of owner occupants. All houses listed as insurable or insurable with a repair escrow are now exclusively available to owner occupants for 30 days. Only uninsured homes will be open to investors after a 5 day exclusive period. 3. The earnest money deposit required for homes above $100K is now 1% of the purchase price. For offers below $100K you deposit $1,000 and for homes less than $50K you need to deposit $500 payable to HUD.

Due to this transition there were hardly any new HUD listings in October 2010. However, this has changed. Many new HUD homes hit the market last week, and HUD’s listing brokers are marketing these houses aggressively.

The process of bidding on HUD homes is confusing to most buyers, even real estate agents. HUD established the new bidding guidelines in October 2010. These new rules are summarized in the HUD Home Buyer’s Guide for 2010.

Both owner occupant buyers as well as real estate investors can benefit from this Buyer’s Guide. It contains all of the information they need to successfully bid on HUD homes. Even realtors may not be fully aware of the new guidelines. The Home Buyer’s Guide may be the perfect reference that helps them grow their business in these hard economic times.

To get a copy of the HUD Home Buyer’s guide for free at Columbus Ohio HUD Homes
About the Author

About the author: Susanne Novak is a full time real estate agent who helps home owners buy bank owned properties at discounted prices. Read her blog to find the best Columbus OH homes for sale and learn how to buy HUD Homes in Columbus Ohio.