How Can You Find New HUD Homes Listed for Sale?

Earlier this fall the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) selected new asset managers to promote their inventory of bank-owned HUD properties. They took at the beginning of October, and there has been a relatively good confusion regarding how to find new HUD homes listed for sale.Before the new HUD asset managers took over, there is one website to go to, enabling you to easily search for HUD homes from coast to coast. HUD homes was previously for auction on Fridays. Brand new listings were available to owner occupants only for Ten days. If no acceptable offer was received by day 10, everybody was allowed to invest in HUD homes.Now, the search has become more complicated. First of all, tow or three asset management firms are responsible for marketing HUD homes in every state. HUD homes are now listed on every day basis and exclusively open to owner occupants for any full Thirty days. Only uninsured homes can be bought by investors 5 days once they are listed.HUD created a new website to show all of their listings - HUDHomeStore.com . It provides a completely new interface which may be simpler, but it is really less powerful since the old website.About the main page of the HUDHomeStore you can either click a map or choose a state from the pull down menu on the left of the Search Properties box. It's also wise to enter a county and choose which status you are looking for, e.g. new listings. After you click “search” you receive a list of HUD homes with pictures and addresses.Click on the image or case number to display details on a specific house. For many properties you can find more pictures, an appraisal and property condition report (sometimes), HUD required addenda and also the LPD (lead paint disclosure.)A different way to find HUD homes for sale is on your local MLS. All HUD homes need to be on the MLS per HUD guidelines. However, you may encounter some problems with the MLS listings:1. A house may not be clearly labeled as a HUD home. At least not in the description available to the general public. Your realtor can look for agent remarks (which are not visible to the public) in order to find HUD homes that way.2. In yesteryear, the HUD listings about the MLS weren't up-to-date. Although HUD requires that listing brokers change the listing status of HUD properties within Twenty four hours, this might not happen, and you won’t make the most current information.What’s the best choice for locating HUD homes?The best way would be to make use of a realtor who is an expert on HUD properties and successfully completed a number of HUD purchases. Your agent should follow HUD listings every day, and help you stay current as new HUD homes are listed. Most agents can setup a custom look for you and email you whenever a new HUD hits the market.