Thread: Buying a Homeowners Assistance Program property

Hello all,

I currently have an offer in on a property that is being sold by a private party (Military Personnel) with the assistance of the Department of Defense's Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP). I was told to allow up to 60 days for final approval from HAP before moving into contract. I am a first time home buyer and need to be in contract on the property before April 1st, 2010 to qualify for the first time home buyers tax credit. I am the only prospective buyer for the houses at the moment (only one with an offer on it) and the only thing we asked for was 4% towards closing costs which we built into the list price of the house (offered 4% above asking price). So here are the questions I pose:

1. Does anyone have any experience dealing with a buyer trying to buy one of these types of houses?

2. What can I expect in regards to timing on getting final approval and moving forward into contract on the property? Does it usually take the full 60 days for them to say yes or no?

Basically I am trying to decide whether i should move on and find another property to bid on or not since time is of the essence. There is a good chance i could get the property and be good to go by April 1st. But if they do take 60 full days to get back to me on final approval and say no, then I have around 2 weeks to be in contract on another house before the tax credit ends. I looked all over the internet and can find no track records for these types of home sales.

Thank you in advance for any assistance you are able to offer, I really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Erik