HUD Homes (bank owned, real estate, foreclosures)

[texasboi]

Does anybody know of a website that is free to search for HUD homes in NJ and Texas? Everytime I find one they want me to pay to get in.

Are HUD homes the same as foreclosed homes?

[austin_momma]

HUD homes are government owned homes. REO's (Real Estate Owned) are bank owned homes.
You will need a realtor to put a bid in for you if you choose to specifically buy HUD homes. You need to work with a realtor that has a HUD key and knows the HUD bidding process.
Since you need to work with a realtor, your realtor can send you specifically the HUD foreclosures.

[Lumerian Feast]

Just go to the HUD website:

Homes and Communities - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

It's all public info, and you can search individual states. But I've noticed that there aren't nearly as many listings as there were a few years ago, because investors have snapped up so many gov't-owned homes. I do believe you have to have a realtor submit your bid for you, but so what. It's not like their paycheck comes out of the buyer's pocket.

Regarding foreclosures, if you do a search on a site like ziprealty.com or redfin.com, the listings will tell you whether the house is bank-owned or not. These are free sites. But I'm not sure if you search directly for REOs; you might have to search within a particular price range or neighborhood, and see which ones are foreclosures. Or a realtor can just find some for you.