          Purchasing Your New Home
          
                
          
          Purchasing your new home is one of the most satisfying 
          moments in one's life.  A new home is a place of comfort 
          and security as well as a good solid investment.  What we 
          will cover now is several different ways to go about 
          buying your new home. 
          
          US Department of Housing and Urban Development 
          (HUD)
          
          HUD homes are properties HUD owns as a result of 
          paying the balance on foreclosed FHA insured mortgages.  
          Any qualified buyer can purchase a HUD home.  Generally 
          your monthly mortgage payment should be no more than 
          29% of your monthly gross income.  Many HUD homes 
          require only a 3% down payment.  You can move into 
          some HUD homes with a down payment of only $100.HUD will 
          also pay the real estate brokers commission up to the 
          standard 6% of the sale price.  HUD may also pay 
          for your closing costs.  HUD homes are priced at fair 
          market value.  Consult your local newspaper for HUD 
          listings or the real estate broker of your choice.  HUD 
          stresses that properties sell "as is" and that means HUD 
          will not make any repairs.It is up to the potential buyer to 
          determine the value and condition of the home.However, 
          listings should state any major problems.
          
          For a complete step by step guide to purchasing HUD  
          owned homes, call 800-767-4483 and request the 
          brochure "A Home of Your Own".
          
          Another program offered by HUD is known as H.O.P.E.3.  
          This program is designed to provide home ownership for 
          low income families and individuals.  You qualify for 
          housing help through H.O.P.E.3 under the low income 
          family housing act if you are a first time home buyer and 
          are below 80% of the median income in your area.  You 
          must also meet the affordability criteria that requires that 
          the cost of the principal, interest, taxes, and insurance of 
          the home comes to no more than 30% of you income.  
          These programs are instituted to help you, so do not be 
          afraid to be persistent in asking for information about what 
          H.O.P.E.3 programs are available in your area.  Contact 
          the regional HUD office nearest you or call 202-708-0324.
          
          HUD offers over 100 housing programs; some may be 
          useful to you.  To learn about all the programs offered and 
          what they can do for you, call 202-708-1420 and request 
          "Programs for HUD".  This 119 page booklet will be sent 
          to you free of charge.  HUD offers free counseling to 
          HUD home buyers, homeowners, and tenants.
          
          The Veterans Administration (VA)
          
          The VA sells foreclosed properties through private real 
          estate brokers.  Properties are frequently advertised in 
          local papers that give such information as address, number 
          of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, property defects, and 
          price.  Almost any real estate agent can show you the 
          property.  No broker has an exclusive listing for any of 
          these properties.  Local VA offices are the best source of 
          information on the procedures involved in purchasing 
          these properties.  Regional offices publish lists of 
          foreclosed properties with descriptions in multiple listing 
          code and phone numbers to call about the property.  In 
          some cases, they will also send you a list of properties 
          currently available in your area.  These offices will mail 
          out a list each time you write in a request.  You must go 
          through a real estate agent to purchase a VA home, since 
          they have the keys to the premises.  The process is very 
          much like a regular real estate transaction.  The listing has 
          the price that the VA wants.  It will also state if the VA is 
          willing to accept a lower price.  Remember that once you 
          put in a bid for a house and win, there is no further 
          negotiating or turning back.  Houses come "as is" with no 
          guarantees.  Therefore, it is important to inspect them 
          carefully.  VA financing is possible but you get a 10% 
          discount for paying cash.  You must state at the time of 
          the bid whether you intend to use VA financing or have 
          found your own.  There are two basic avenues to arrange 
          financing.  You can be pre-qualified by lenders and then go 
          shopping, or more commonly, your real estate broker will 
          tell  you what is available in the mortgage market.  You 
          usually find a broker, find a house, bid on it, win the bid, 
          and then find financing with the broker's help.  The one 
          attractive thing about VA foreclosures is that you can 
          often buy them with 0% down.  You do not have to be a 
          veteran to take advantage of VA foreclosures.
          
          United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
          
          The first thing that you need to do is to contact your local 
          Farmers Home Administration office.  There are at least 
          1900 offices around the country.  The Farmers Home 
          Administration is part of the USDA that makes low-
          interest loans available to qualified applicants to purchase 
          homes and farms in rural areas.  The Farmers Home 
          Administration is also charged with disposing of properties 
          that are foreclosed.  First they make any necessary repairs 
          to the foreclosed properties and then they offer them for 
          sale to people who meet the same qualifications as those 
          applying for FmHA loans.  Eligible applicants also qualify 
          to purchase the properties at special low FmHA interest 
          rates (as low as 1%).  If no eligible applicants purchase a 
          property, it is then put up for sale to the general public at 
          competitive prices.  If the property is not sold within ten 
          days, it may be reduced by 10%.  Sales to the general 
          public may be through FmHA offices or through private 
          real estate brokers.  FmHA eligible applicants must reside 
          on the property purchased after the sale, but, if no eligible 
          applicants are available, other buyers may use it for 
          investment or rental property.  This program is designed to 
          serve people of modest income who do not have enough         
          money to make a down payment on a home.  Credit 
          evaluation is done on the most recent 12 months and 
          bankruptcy is not a factor after 36 months.
          
          There is one more way that I would like to share with you, 
          call it a bonus if you like.  There is a government agency 
          called the Resolution Trust Corporation or RTC.This 
          organization was designed to sell all the real estate that
          the government acquired from the failed savings and loan 
          companies.  All that you have to do is call them and 
          request information on their services.  Also, request a 
          listing of all the property that is available in your state 
          or any other state in which you are interested.The RTC has 
          a calender they produce on a regular basis that lists all of 
          their upcoming real estate auctions.You should request 
          the calendar as well.  You can call them at 800-782-3006.
          
          There are many other ways to go about buying a home.  
          You can go with a more conventional manner such as 
          purchasing a home through a builder and financing it 
          through a bank or mortgage company.I assumed that you 
          were already aware of the more conventional manner of 
          buying a home and that is why I chose to list the other 
          ways.
          
          Here is a listing of the addresses and phone numbers of the 
          programs we discussed:
          
          HUD
          Us Department of Housing and Urban Development
          451 7th St. SW
          Washington DC 20410-4000
          HUD Locator...............................# 202-708-1422
          Multiple-Family Property Dispositions.....# 202-708-1220
          Single-Family Property Dsipostions........# 202-708-1822
          
          H.O.P.E.3
          US Department of Housing and Urban Development
          Office of Community Planning and Development
          Office of Affordable Housing Programs
          451 7th St.SW
          Washington DC  20410-7000     
          Phone #...................................# 202-708-032
          
          Veterans Administration
          US Veterans Administration
          810 Vermont Ave NW
          Washington DC 20420  
          Phone.....................................# 202-233-4000
          
          USDA
          US Department of Agriculture
          Single Family Housing Division
          Loan Processing
          14th and Independence Ave SW   Room 5334
          Washington DC 20420   
          Phone.....................................# 202-720-1474
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
          
