HUD home sale listings: a guide to resources

If you are dreaming of a first home or investing in rental property, you will find opportunities for both in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) home sale listings.

HUD is selling thousands of homes that had mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a division of HUD. As homeowners default on these government-backed mortgages, the FHA repays the lender and takes the home. The result is thousands of HUD home listings nationwide.

Click here to read more about buying foreclosed homes and the stages of foreclosure.

Finding HUD homes online

Accessing these listings is simple. The HUD website, HUDhomestore.com, has foreclosed homes listed by state. You can search by location, price, house specifications or by browsing photos of each home. You may save your searches and sign up for emails that alert you to new listings in your area.

Find foreclosed properties here!

This site also provides answers to questions about the HUD home buying process, different listing periods, HUD programs for homeowners and HUD-approved real estate agents in your area. If you decide to bid on a property, you will need an agent to place the bid for you.

Of course there are other websites advertising foreclosed homes for sale. Banks, mortgage lenders, realty companies and private businesses have foreclosed homes for sale on their websites. Some of them are real estate owned (REO) properties rather than government-owned homes, so if you find a house of interest, contact the business listing the home first. Sites that compile lists of foreclosed homes for potential buyers may charge a fee for the information, but lender sites provide them free of charge.

Searching public records

Public records are also a great resource for HUD home listings. When a homeowner defaults on a mortgage loan, a Notice of Default (NOD) is sent to the homeowner and filed with the local county clerk. If the home is foreclosed, a Notice of Sale (NOS) is recorded with the county clerk and sent to the homeowner. Additionally, these notices must legally be filed under the legal notice section of the local newspaper as well. Searching public records and the local newspaper will alert you to HUD home sale listings before they go online. You may be able to buy a home from the owner in a pre-foreclosure sale rather than waiting for the foreclosure to go through.

Hire a real estate agent

Real estate agents who are approved to sell HUD homes often know about house listings before they are listed on websites. These agents may also help sellers with pre-foreclosure sales and sell REO properties for lenders. Since you will eventually need an agent to place bids on HUD homes, it may be useful to interview a few at the beginning of your search. These agents can advise you of the pros and cons of buying pre-foreclosed homes, foreclosed homes, HUD homes and properties at auctions. If you decide to bid on a HUD home, an agent will also help you set the bid amount and bid at the right time.

Bidding on a HUD home

When you find a home or investment property of interest, you will need a real estate broker who is registered to bid on HUD sales to place your offer. Each home listing will include the status of the bidding process and who may place bids at that point in the sale. In the initial listing period, preference is given to buyers who will live in the home. Then, the sale is opened to investors. Listing periods have lengths and rules that vary according to the type of property, the home’s area and the home’s price. Your agent can help you determine the listing details of each home. In some cases, you will need cash to buy. In other cases, you may qualify for HUD home loan programs that cut a property price in half or to one dollar.

Whether you want to buy a home or invest in a rental property, HUD home sale listings offer properties below market value in every area of the country. Reply! can help you find HUD home sale listings and real estate brokers approved to place your bid.