How to Bid on a HUD Home, Foreclosures and Short Sales

Just a couple of years ago, a bid that would net HUD 86% - 88% was considered a great bid. Today, all bets are of. There is no set formula for placing a winning bids.

It has been the American way to make a low offer on a home and raise the offer amount if the lower offer is not accepted. The problem with that in today’s market, is that the good homes and the great deals are flying of the market.

Over the weekend, I placed a $92,000 bib on a HUD Home that was listed for $96,000. The winning bid was $97,500. $1,500 more than the asking price. As a matter of fact, most of the NSP Down Payment Grant Programs, require that the sales price on a home be at least $15,000 less than the current market value to qualify the buyer to FREE Money!


Here is my professional advice to you. If you find a property you like:

1. Get pre-approved, not prequalified for the maximum amount you want to spend on a home before you start looking at houses. It does not mean you have to spend that much, and I recommend that you don’t, but you want to be ready to when a “Luck” presents itself.

2. Attend any lender required education classes that will qualify you for FREE MONEY, even if you have not found a home yet!

3. Any time you go to view property with your agent, be ready to make a serious offer if you find a home you like. The great home and great deals don’t last long.


4. Have your agent justify the price by showing you the comparable sales in the area. Use this logic to make your best offer.


5. Make your best offer first. On a foreclosure or a pre-foreclosure, your best offer may be more than the asking price. The offer will depend on what is going on in that particular part of the city.
6. 
   Have a list of all the inspectors you will need after your offer has been accepted. You will have a short period of time to inspect this property to make sure you want to go ahead with the purchase. Don’t wait until the last minute. Be Ready and you’ll be lucky!
   

Be patient and stay in contact with your lender and your agent. Sometimes….NO, I take that back…. ….Most of the time, the good deals require a little more time and effort to the closing table.

Happy Hunting. Encourage someone you care about to invest in real estate today! My motto is “Be ready and you’ll be lucky!”

WestSide Goes GREEN - Down Payment Assistance to GREEN Foreclosures

Going GREEN is an inevitability. Agents and Brokers who do not get educated about the market and the consumer demands will find themselves and their clients at a disadvantage. Buyers who purchase homes today with little or no regard for the GREEN movement will find it hard to sell their real estate – Home- in the very near future.

As a real estate professional, it is incumbent upon us to educate the public. Homes built the old fashioned way are not competing well in today’s market and will be at an even greater disadvantage when the buyer is ready to sell a few years down the road. Consumers are demanding more efficient and healthier homes. The more educated we are as real estate professionals, will determine how successful our businesses will be.

In so many cases, the clients are more knowledgeable about the market than we are. Our clients pay us to be the expert and to advise them. We must advise our buyer clients of trends in market and prepare our sellers for what buyers will be demanding for their dollars. There are so many incentives, rebates, tax credits, etc., to help sellers bring their properties up to standard before putting the home on the market. As professionals, providing this information should be a part of the service we provide to the seller.

I am so excited about Douglas County and other counties in West Georgia Going GREEN!

I feel blessed to be in a position to educate the public about the GREEN movement. The more classes and courses we take, the more money we will be able to save our clients and that is what they pay us to do.

Kymn Hargrave is a Real Estate Broker and Consumer Educator in Georgia.

She is a Member of The National Association of REALTORS®, REALTIST®, Member of The National Association of Real Estate Brokers, CNHS- Certified New Home Specialist, has the Green Designation with The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), AHWD-At Home with Diversity Certification, SRES- Seniors Real Estate Specialist Designation , a Georgia Certified Facilitator and is a REOS- Real Estate Owned Specialist.

Kymn is available to speak at your small business and real estate related events.
Contact Kymn Hargarve @ 770-598-3240 KymnHargrave@Gmail.com