"The Bush Administration is committed to increasing the number of Americans, particularly minorities, who own their own homes," said Secretary Martinez. "We believe this incentive program will help more people become first-time homebuyers by purchasing one of HUD's single-family homes." President Bush came to HUD in June (left, with Deputy Secretary Jackson and Secretary Martinez) to talk to HUD employees about his Agenda to Expand Opportunities for Homeownership (www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/homeownership/), and his goal of increasing the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million before the end of the decade.

This new Bush Administration initiative, the $1,000 Cash Back Move-In Allowance, is effective immediately. Checks will be issued at closing and can be used by homebuyers for any expenses such as moving costs and home repairs. To qualify, the buyer must agree to live in the property as his or her primary residence for a minimum of 12 months, and the buyer must close the sale transaction within 30 days after the contract is accepted.

There are approximately 30,000 single-family homes in HUD's inventory of properties, and they can be found in most states as well as Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands. Interested parties should visit the HUD Homes web site to get information about the availability of HUD Homes in their area.

HUD Homes are offered for sale at market value, with the price established by an appraisal. But since the properties are sold "as is," there often are opportunities for homebuyers to earn "sweat equity" by making repairs after the sale. Bidding for available HUD Homes is conducted exclusively on the Internet. Only the buyer's real estate agent may enter bid information into HUD's bid web site.

When a property is first listed for sale, priority is given to potential owner-occupant purchasers for the first 10 calendar days, described as follows: All owner-occupant offers received during the first five days of this 10 day period will be reviewed on the first business day following the expiration of the five day period. All owner-occupant offers received are reviewed and the property is awarded to the highest acceptable net owner-occupant bidder. If there are no offers during this initial five-day bid period, daily bid openings are conducted for the remaining five-day owner-occupant priority period. If the property remains unsold at the conclusion of the 10-day owner-occupant priority period, bids from investor purchasers will be considered.

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