HUD Houses

I went to a seminar last week on the topic of Loss Mitigation in HUD houses. The topic was how HUD can reduce the number of foreclosures using methods including tools such as Forebearance, Reinstatement, Repayment Plans, Mortgage Modification and Partial Claims. In all of these instances, the borrower is able to remain in the house. When the loss of the house is inevitable, the mortgagor can has several options to avoid foreclosure including Sale, Pre-Foreclosure Sale and/or Short Sale, and Deed-In-Lieu of Foreclosure. Not all of these result in a bargain for the investor, but they may and you should look into them. From what I have found out, HUD houses are not listed in the MLS. Their sales are generally very quick and offers in Memphis are submitted online through an approved HUD certified real estate agent. The prices of HUD homes can be quite lower than houses on MLS or FSBO because HUD does not want to hold the inventory and they really are not interested in making a profit on their repossessed houses. In fact, they are trying to mitigate their losses. Each day the house remains empty it decreases in value. My suggestion is to go to their site at www.hud.gov and see what is available in your area.