I have no answer BUT I am in the middle of a GIANT GIANT Hud home mess - Put in the offer- excepted- told a closing date, sold our home a loss to make sure we didnt have 2- then there was a problem with the lead base paint funds- TOTAL nightmare- I had to actually contact people in Washington to get it figured out for the company Best Assests selling the hud home- well now that they have the right things going on BUT we just closed on our home today- and they CANNOT tell us when they expect to get to our HUD home and get the lead base paint deal done- So now we just have to be homeless ( I am in a hotel with my Child ) Boyfriend is at his parents with his- We have NO IDEA when they will get to it and no one can tell us- --- Actually I was told by a man at Best Assests that they were not Legally obligated to tell us- grrrrrrrrrrr--What a nightmare- so now we just have to wait for how long???????---- Anywho we went from being a little worried about two house payments to now having no house- Wonderful------ I also put a lot of Blame on my realtor- He should have told us never to have closed on our old home until we had closed on the new one- I think he should pay for the storage and the housing for us- Blah could go on and on- I love the house and it is a GREAT deal- but I am not sure how long 5 people and 5 cats can wait it out- I say BE CAREFUL and KNOW all you can BEFORE you decide to actually buy a HUD home to live in- you may become homeless :)

I bought a HUD about 5 years ago...It is expected, to not be able to turn on the utilities for the inspection... Some homes have been raped by people less considerate then you... not to worry though... I did pay to have a home inspector, so he took into consideration that I couldn't possibly have utilities on...not safe...He wrote worse case scenario out for me... which was right on!!! Make sure you know your inspector... and rely on him to walk you through it... also know you can back out... But your not refunded the money... sometimes cheep is costly, worth the 300- 350 to find out you can't afford the fixer upper!

By the way, most 203K loans are based on guesstimates, high to low... There are no promises with repo homes... If it concerns you, your best bet is to always follow your gut feeling... Move on to one that makes you feel less afraid...

Gman:

The gas company can tell you where the leaks are and a plumber can fix them fairly quickly in most cases. It may cost you a few hundred dollars, but if you like the house it is worth it in the long run. I agree that checking the property report online is a big help. http://www.nhmsi.com

Because the properties are sold as is, the inspection is for your appraiser and your own knowledge. HUD does not make repairs and does not reduce the price for inspection.

http://nhmsi.com/pdfs/broker_manual.pdf

Read page 7 regarding the AS IS clause with HUD homes. You can cancel the sale if you are doing FHA financing. If not, you will likely lose your deposit.

are you sure you want to get into this mess?

if you can't get an inspection done because of the utilities is that good enough reason to get out of the deal and not loose your earnest money?
in the long run may be worth it to loose it to get out of this mess.

maybe this is why the previous deal fell thru.
why did you raise your bid if the other offer fell thru?

OK, the problem may be that your agent is not familiar with city properties and the inspection/permit requirements they have; I trust this is in a major city - probably Akron - and cities are trying to make sure that substandard housing is brought up to their standards. More and more cities are doing this, with the suburbs of Cleveland being the most aggressive, then probably Akron and then Canton. Frankly, agents are often not trained on this stuff and unless they specialize in repos in the areas where they primarily sell, then they would not have experience until they ran into someone like you.

If your home is in a city with housing inspection requirements you may also face the challenge of hiring only contractors approved by the city - in other words, get out your checkbook for the permits and inspections you'll need, plus possibly higher labor costs. Many persons try to sneak around this requirement and often they get away with it but if you've already tipped off the city as to your intended purchase of this home, you may be watched closely.

When I buy a repo we always do the inside work first before beginning on the outside. Once there is outside activity, people start to notice (like the city's weekly trash haulers) and report the activity. (I also don't want to attract thieves.) The city wants the money from your permit fees; I like to keep my costs down so I wont tell you that everything I do is per their procedural requirements. However, should they inspect my work later, they never find any issues because the work is done correctly in accordance with code requirements. I am not telling you to do your work this way but I am suggesting that we are in a highly competitive market and every dollar saved counts.

As a reminder, I provide a 25% commission rebate to my buyers on all properties they purchase, so you'll get a check from me at closing. That should more than take care of the permit and inspection fees for you. Don French 330-327-1188

Thank you Don. I thought I had an experienced buyers agent. She's turned out to be miserable though and it's like pulling teeth to even get to her.

I have viewed the online appraisal and the repairs that are preventing the utility activation are not listed in that sheet.

I guess I don't understand how I'm supposed to advance while in this catch-22.

The problems you are having are not unusual and you should have been advised of your risks if you have a buyer's agent (the listing agent has no obligation to help you). HUD repos usually have their appraiser's estimate of repairs online before you bid; these are guidelines and usually you'll find a lot more repairs needed than what they find. If you did not view the appraisal file online you need to do that; it's in a PDF format that you can download. The repairs and the amount needed for them for a 203K loan are part of the FHA case number; you should research this before you spend any more money or time unnecessarily. It is correct that you will still need a contractor to give you an estimate and FHA will have a case reviewer analyze what was found and FHA will monitor the progress of the repairs. Hopefully this property will work out for you and likewise hopefully you have a seasoned buyer's agent, but if things don't work out and you'd like to work with someone experienced, I can help. Don French 330-327-1188