Why Did HUD Leave $20,000 on the Table?

Last week there were substantial price reductions on 2 HUD condos. Let me give you an update on what happended over the weekend.

Both condos are now in contract. That was predictable, as the asking prices of these homes had dropped by more than 50%.

You may be surprised to hear that HUD left $20,000 on the table.

HUD did not accept the highest offer that was submitted over the weekend. Instead, they took the first acceptable offer they received on Saturday.

These homes were on a daily bidding deadline. As HUD does not review offers on Sunday, we did not know, if they had accepted a contract. New offers were flowing in on Sunday. More than 10 in total.

I warned my buyers that HUD may have accepted an offer on Saturday, and that we would not know until Monday. Contracts submitted on Sunday came too late, despite the fact that at least one of them was $20K higher than the one they accepted.

What can you learn from this?

You have to be ready when HUD lowers the price. The first acceptable offer gets the house.

Unlike Fannie Mae, HUD does not apply the Best-and-Final approach to get the highest offer.

“The early bird gets the worm.”