How to WIN the Bid with HUD homes in New Mexico

Learning how to Win the Bid with HUD homes in New Mexico.  This can be a lucrative alternative for many savvy home buyers.

This article offers a guide and some insight on how to WIN the Bid with HUD homes in New Mexico.

Many of today’s savvy homebuyers consider the many different opportunities available to them from Short Sales properties (the value is less than the mortgage balance) and Bank-Owned Homes (Foreclosures). One of the options is HUD homes. A HUD (Housing and Urban Development) home simply means a property that How to buy HUD Homes in New Mexicohas gone through the foreclosure process on a VA (Veterans Administration) or FHA (Federal Housing Authority) insured mortgage that is now owned by the federal government or HUD.

Buyers need to understand that not all real estate transactions are created equal, and today’s buyer needs to be familiar with the complexities and differences involved with each type. These differences may often dictate the type of loan you can acquire, who pays for specific closing costs, or if there is a home warranty offered. 

Search here for all Albuquerque Area HUD Homes for sale or Albuquerque Area Foreclosures. 

Here are the first four critical components of How to Win the Bid with HUD Homes in New Mexico.

1. Get Pre-qualified FIRST. There is no point in attempting to win a bid on HUD-owned property if you are not pre-qualified, have a supporting letter from your lender, or have proof of funds for a cash purchase. HUD will not consider offers without this!

How to buy hud homes in new mexico-REALTOR

Use a Realtor and Certified NAID Broker. How to buy HUD Homes in New Mexico

2. Hire a HUD Certifed NM REALTOR®. To facilitate a New Mexico HUD home transaction. The agent must have a current NAID number to act on your behalf. You MUST have an agent representing you. A small percentage of New Mexico real estate brokers have the necessary NAID. Albuquerque Homes Realty does have this required certification.

3. Have your REALTOR® search for New Mexico HUD-owned homes for sale or simply search At times, a home may show ACTIVE in the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) but be in a PENDING (under contract) status with HUD. Your NAID certified REALTOR® should investigate this for you to determine accurate availability.  You can find New Mexico HUD-owned homes here on our website.  

HUD typically makes its initial offerings to those that would be Owner Occupants, not real estate investors. Knowing this helps you as a buyer, so you don’t have to be concerned with investor bidding. If a property has not sold after some specific timeline determined by HUD, they may elect to make the home available to investor type buyers.

Once you’ve chosen which New Mexico HUD home to purchase, pay close attention to the BID DEADLINE! If you surpass the deadline, you may not get another opportunity to bid. If HUD doesn’t receive an acceptable offer, they may reset the Bid Deadline. 

Be mindful of how you bid. When HUD list their properties, they have already appraised using FHA guidelines. The FHA appraised value is the initial asking price of the home. If you bid above the asking price, the amount over asking is paid by the buyer not as part of the loan but as cash due at closing.

4.HUD will pay up to 3% of the buyer’s closing costs, maybe. This concession may sound attractive upfront. However, HUD sees the majority of closing costs in a transaction as the buyer’s responsibility. For example, the owner’s title policy is typically paid by a seller, at least in New Mexico. HUD sees this as a buyer fee. The same holds with a survey and home inspections. So the buyer is now responsible for a good bit more of the closing costs than is the norm for our market. 

Now back to the BID process. HUD will pay up to 3% of the purchase price; however, HUD, like any other seller, is considering the NET amount paid to them at closing. Another bidder may bid the same amount as you did but didn’t ask for the 3% buyer concession, so the other bidder wins! (As a side note here, HUD does not just look at final net-out.) If a buyer is offering cash versus a loan scenario and the offer price is similar, HUD may take the lower CASH offer to expedite the closing and effectively eliminate any possible loan contingency issues.

When HUD accepts your winning bid, they will notify your REALTOR®. Sometimes HUD may not acknowledge you as the winning bidder but will engage in a counteroffer scenario. Once both parties are in agreement, then your New Mexico HUD certified REALTOR® will have you sign the necessary contracts, addendums, and disclosures. Any NAID certified broker should also know that contract documents must be signed in their original with Blue Ink (no exceptions) and must be sent overnight to HUD. Email, Faxes, and electronic signatures are not acceptable yet.

HUD highly suggests performing a home inspection before the offer process. If handled this way, any home inspection would be a simple and limited visual inspection of the property. Utilities are almost always off, and HUD will likely not activate them or allow activation without written authorization and an accepted contract. A big part of any home inspection involves working electrical systems, running water, plumbing, and appliances, etc.

HUD does provide a PCR (Property Condition Report) and a PCS (Property Condition Summary). The PCS is an inspection of sorts that tests the inoperative systems using generators for the electrical service and air pressure for the water system and then share their findings. The Summary report gives an “estimated” amount any repairs may be. This estimate is necessary for rehabilitation type loan scenarios.

Once HUD notifies the buyer via his/her NM Broker of acceptance, the clock starts ticking quickly towards completing a home inspection, loan processing, and ultimately closing. HUD typically mandates the close date at this point. You will have the opportunity to conduct full home inspections but at your sole expense.

Turning any utilities on is the buyers’ responsibility and cost and arranged by the buyer. Setting up utility turn-ons and subsequent turn-offs (also mandated by HUD within 72 hrs of the turn-on) can be a strategic timing dilemma at best. For example: If the home has been vacant for an extended period, and most have been, the utility companies have likely removed the gas and or electric meter. The water’s been turned off, and the home winterized. To install a gas meter, a licensed gas fitter must conduct a preliminary inspection and pull a city permit, package cost ($250.00+-).

If that plumber or city inspector finds issues, repairs will be required to obtain a Green Tag. The same holds with the electrical meter. For the power company to turn on service, an electrician must first inspect, pull permits, and have the service inspected by a city inspector ($280.00+-). If all checks clear, a green tag is issued, and the electric company sets a meter and turns on service.

Keep in mind these items are all at the buyer’s expense, whether the home closes, or not. The water utility must be on as well; any deposits are the buyer expense. The buyer is also liable for any damages caused by any utility turn on. The buyer’s broker must provide access to each of these events.

BUYER BEWARE! Inspections are for the buyers’ information only! HUD does not and will not make any repairs period. When you purchase HUD homes, you buy the property AS IS WHERE IS WITH ALL FAULTS AND DEFECTS. So what you see or don’t see is what you get. For example, if the inspector discovers a defective roof, it could easily jeopardize your ability to acquire an FHA or VA (government-backed) loan.

Certain defects can deem a property as substandard according to FHA/VA guidelines; repairing the defect is paramount to underwrite the loan. So a catch 22 scenario exists where the seller (HUD) will not make repairs, and the buyer is not allowed to make repairs before the close of escrow. The catch is that buyers lenders will not underwrite the loan until those defects are cured. 

HUD works to overcome this issue with very targeted loan programs called Rehab Loans or 203(k) loans. These are complex, and few lenders will tackle the challenges of a 203(k). That is another article for another day. With that said, a buyer is wise to understand what the inspection reveals and if they have the necessary means and or funds to fix them and other issues that may arise after closing.

A buyer must state in the initial contract if they are an owner-occupant or an investor. If you indicate that you’re an owner-occupant, you are legally bound to occupy it for at least one year before selling. Another requirement is no history of owning a HUD home within the past 24 months.

If inspections are behind schedule, or the loan process is lagging, HUD does allow for an extension of close date; however, this is a fee-based extension to the buyer and gets expensive quickly. Any extension must be HUD-approved in advance. If the closing date passes without closing or an extension, the contract is null and void, with HUD taking possession of the buyer’s earnest money.

The title company handling the escrow must receive the buyer loan package and instructions from the lender 72 hrs before closing. The lender must be made aware of this. HUD must review and accept the final closing statement before the buyers closing and signatures.

HUD requires buyers to be physically at the closing. Buyers may NOT close remotely then send closing documents into the title company. If a buyer purchases long-distance or is out of town, arrangements must be made for the physical signing by a power of attorney.

Funds for closing must be available at the time of the closing. New Mexico is NOT a table fund state, so the normal is for funding to happen the following day. This practice is unacceptable by HUD. Your lender must make the necessary changes to make funds available on the day of closing.

Once the closing finalizes, the buyer can take possession. The buyer, however, must make provisions to rekey the locks of the home. The buyer may not retain the existing keys. The buyer can now turn utilities back on and enjoy the occupancy of their new home.

This article on How to Buy A HUD Home in New Mexico has a fair amount of detail; this does not cover all aspects of a transaction or related buyer closing costs. The objective here is not to strike fear or discourage but to educate and prepare you. Learning how to buy HUD homes in New Mexico can be complicated, but knowing the expected protocol can mean the difference between success and failure. When correctly managed, the purchase of a New Mexico HUD home can be a lucrative endeavor.


As outlined earlier, having a HUD-certified and knowledgeable NM REALTOR® is paramount to you winning the bid of an NM Hud-owned property. 

John McCormack REALTOR® has the knowledge, experience, and certification necessary to guide you through buying HUD homes in New Mexico. 

John McCormack, Broker, REALTOR®

Albuquerque Homes Realty

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