What are HUD Foreclosures?

HUD foreclosures are homes that are owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. These are single family or multi-family units that have been foreclosed that were backed by an FHA insured loan. When someone with an FHA insured loan defaults on their mortgage, FHA pays the original lender and the property then becomes available through HUD’s auction process, often below current market rate.

Where to find HUD homes

Available HUD homes are listed on the government website http://www.hudhomestore.com. 

The initial bidding period is limited to owner occupants, non-profits and government agencies. If the property is insured, investors cannot bid for 30 days. If the property is uninsured, investors cannot bid for 5 days. If the property has not sold during the initial offering period, it then can be opened up for investors.

How do I bid on a HUD home?

In order to submit a bid on a HUD home, the bid must be submitted through a qualified HUD home specialist real estate agent.

If you bid is accepted, HUD will notify your agent. If your bid is not accepted, and no other bids were accepted, you can bid again. In some cases, HUD will provide a counter-offer as a way to notify you of what amount they will accept. If you chose to bid that amount, they will accept your bid as long as no one else has bid higher than you.

Properties offered on an as-is basis

Often, homes auctioned by HUD are not the nicest homes on the street. If you are considering bidding on a HUD home, it’s important to not that all HUD homes are offered on an as-is basis and HUD will not perform any necessary repairs prior to auctioning the home or after a winning bid has been awarded.

Outside – The first photo a potential buyer will see is of the outside of the home.  Make sure you take down the statues of snow white and her seven dwarfs, and remove any hanging baskets that don’t have flowers in them anymore.  Take the trimmers to the shrubs and make the front of the home look as nice as possible.

Kitchen – The room in the house that will get the most use is the kitchen.  When getting the house ready to sell, remove anything that is out on the countertops and clean the room.  It might be helpful to keep the dishwashing liquid right next to the sink, but for now, stash it underneath.

Bedrooms – This is a very personal space, but you need to try to stage it so that a potential buyer can picture their own furniture there.  Take out extra furniture, and remove photos to make the room appear larger without as much clutter.   When it comes time to show the home, take your jewelry and valuables out of the house.

Living spaces – The rest of the living areas need to be cleaned thoroughly.  Go through each room and take the opportunity to donate unused or extra items to charity or sell them at a rummage sale or online auction.   As with the bedrooms, clear out personal photos and minimize the amount of knick knacks and clutter.

A good realtor will be able to help guide you to some ways you can get your home ready to show.  Please contact us for assistance.

A recent report by RealtyTrac indicates that Georgia was one of the top five states in the nation with the highest rates of foreclosure in 2012. It is a buyer’s market – there are enticing opportunities everywhere – but buying a foreclosed home can be a risky trip through unchartered territory. You need an experienced Realtor and Foreclosures Specialist, to help you navigate through the process.

“According to Lender Processing Services, nearly 2.2 million homes in the U.S. were in foreclosure in April. On average, they sell for about 30 percent less than a nondistressed property…” as reported by FoxBusiness.com. Sounds like a steal. But before you jump in, be sure you know how much you are willing to spend. There are often additional costs associated with foreclosures. A foreclosures specialist will make you aware of all of them.

First, find out if the property is move-in ready or if is it a distressed property. Often a foreclosed property has been sitting empty for some time. Will you have to pay for pest exterminators? Have vagrants moved in? Was the house vandalized? Was there damage due to frozen or leaking pipes? Are there liens, taxes, or judgments owed on the property? A foreclosures specialist will help you find the answers to these questions and prepare an estimate as to what it will cost to repair the damage or repay outstanding debts that come with the property.

Is this an investment property or your primary home? If you’re looking for an investment property, remember that with so many homes on the market now, it might not be possible to repair the home and flip it in the immediate future. Research the rental market. Can you afford to rent it at a profit for a few years until the market recovers?

If you’re looking for a foreclosed property as your first home, remember that home ownership is a big step. Buying a foreclosed home that is move-in ready is a big step. Buying a distressed, foreclosed home is a giant leap. In addition to your mortgage payment and other costs associated with home ownership, you will also be looking for contractors and other professionals to make repairs, potentially while living in the new place. Know how much chaos you can tolerate and how much time and money you are willing to spend if you decide to purchase a distressed foreclosure property.

There are tremendous deals available on foreclosed properties now. You need a competent, experienced foreclosure specialist to make this experience a good deal for you!

So what exactly does an REO specialist do? They help buyers maneuver through the choppy waters of purchasing foreclosure properties—REOs in particular.

REO is an acronym for “real estate owned.” Basically this means that a particular property has been through the complete foreclosure process and is currently owned by a bank or government lender such as Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and FHA/HUD. These types of properties generally become liabilities for the institutions that own them, so they try to get them off their books in an expeditious manner. The properties are often bargains for the buyer because they are frequently offered for a reduced price. However, there can be a mountain of issues impacting REO sales, including the hazards of acquiring a property in “as-in” condition, title disputes, warranty problems, re-keying and security obstacles and many other predicaments.

This is where an REO specialist is critical. REO specialists are real estate agents who have completed a specific set of REO related criteria, including educational training, testing, proof of professional achievement and other related accomplishments. These are the agents who can anticipate potential problems and have the skills to respond with effective solutions.

If you are interested in purchasing an REO in the Atlanta, Alpharetta, Marietta, Dunwoody or Roswell areas, certified REO specialist Gina Sharma would like to work with you. She was recently awarded the status of being in the top five percent of REO salespeople in the Multi-Million Dollar Sales club by the Atlanta Board of Realtors, contact her today to begin making your dream a reality!

April – Alpharetta Arts Streetfest
For one weekend each April, the streets of downtown Alpharetta are closed, and filled with hundreds of artists from throughout the United States. These artists display high quality original art, paintings, sculptures and other unique treasures. The Streetfest includes music, children’s activities, as well as other cultural performances.

July – A Midsummer Night’s Mayor’s Run and Fun
What better on a warm summer night to come out and enjoy a 5k run, movie night and block party? This event has been an annual event for 16 years, and is a great outing for the whole family.

October – Scarecrow Harvest Event
To celebrate the community and the arrival of fall, K-5 schools in the area each create a scarecrow for display and judging. The K-5 scarecrows are displayed along Main Street, and are joined by business, family and neighborhood scarecrows, which are displayed on Academy Street / Milton Avenue. The scarecrows will be on display all month, but the Scarecrow Harvest Event is held on one Saturday early in the month. The event includes awards, dancing, and a seasonal celebration.

Late November – Lighting of the Christmas Tree
The Alpharetta Downtown Historic District has been hosting an annual tree lighting celebration for over 35 years. This event is attended by the community as a celebration of the season, and includes musical performances, food trucks, the tree lighting, and of course Santa!

The Alpharetta area has something for everyone all year. To find the best place for your new home, please contact us for help.

Clean up outside – If the outside doesn’t look nice, a potential buyer might drive right past and not get to see the rest of the property, so you need to make sure that things are cleaned up and looking nice from the street. Take time to trim bushes, remove excess lawn ornaments, and fix the crooked shutters.

Clean up inside – Before putting your house up for sale, go through every room and clean it out. Take items to a resale shop and throw things out. Do not keep anything you don’t need.

Stage the house – After you have cleaned up and there are fewer items in the house go through and look at each room and stage it. Box up items that are extra, and make the house look inviting. A potential buyer is going to want to be able to imagine themselves living in the space, so take down personal photos and items. Remove knick knacks that tend to accumulate, and generally de-clutter then entire house. You may want to remove some furniture and store it until the house is sold.

Bake – When a potential buyer comes to look at the house, bake some cookies or bread, to make the house smell more like a home.

Please contact us for help in selling your home in the Atlanta area.

Alas, the signs have not been so clear or simple, but they are there. Specifically, given the trends we’re seeing in Atlanta real estate, we’re thinking the economy really is on the rise, making for quite some excitement for those looking to buy or sell a home.

First off, we are pleased to report that the median value for houses in the Atlanta area is on the rise. According to recent data from Realtors.com, the median list price for homes rose to $181,000 in February 2013, which is up nearly 17% from the same month in 2012. This rise appears to be holding steady, as it is just a slight increase in value from the previous month; 0.61% greater than the median value in January. When you compare that 17-point rise in value over the last year to the national average, which saw just a 1% increase, you can see that Atlanta is rebounding nicely.

Part of what is making the Atlanta housing market a little more hectic is a decrease in inventory. Comparing February 2013 to a year before, we see that there is nearly 25% fewer listings for available houses. Also consider that the median age of inventory, the amount of time it takes for a house to go from being listed to being sold, is just 58 days. That’s a full two weeks faster than the same time last year, and over a month faster than the national average. Wow!

On the other hand, taking a look at numbers on the Department of Numbers website, we do see that the housing inventory is on the rise after bottoming out in January of this year. So while we’re still seeing situations like bidding wars on foreclosures, the housing situation may start to level out a bit before too long.

Just don’t expect any fanfare or angels to herald that event either.