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Many foreclosure cleaning business owners are getting jobs from realtors who are being paid by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This is a good thing on two levels:

(i) that government funds are available to help neighborhoods recover from the foreclosure crisis.

In fact, According to the AP article in the Mercury News, Half of housing grants used to buy foreclosures, just over half of $4 billion allocated to the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, the Obama administration's program to help homeowners facing foreclosure, will go to local governments to help them buy and fix up foreclosed properties; and

(ii) it means more foreclosure for foreclosure clean up companies.

But, as with anything that the government appears to touch, there are some things that foreclosure cleanup company owners should know about HUD pricing guidelines. This will help them price their jobs right and get paid quicker.

Set Property Amounts: HUD gives those who own the property (aka mortgagees) set amounts that they can spend on each job/repair to be done on a property.

For example, there will be a set amount allocated for yard maintenance, a set amount to repair a broken window and a set amount to remove existing trash and debris.

In order not to over price or under price your services, it helps to know what this is before you put together your bid on a job. Otherwise you could be losing foreclosure cleaning jobs that you thought were price just right.

Getting Paid More: This may seem to contradict the above advice, but there are instances where you can get paid more for a job — over and above HUD rates. But, it depends on a lot of factors, eg, who is handling the contract for the job, costs associated with the job, etc.

To get paid over and beyond the rate HUD has set for a job, the mortgagee (person/entity that owns the property) must get approval from a HUD representative.

Licensed and Insured: It helps to be a licensed and insured as a foreclosure cleaning company in order to get HUD contracts for this kind of work. Why? Because many HUD realtors, banks and lenders will not hire you/your company if you're not. It's just that simple.

It presents too much of a liability for them if you are hurt on the job, for example, and are not insured. Also, because you're dealing with government money, many of them like a paper trail attached to invoices (eg, the name of the company that did the work, their liability insurance, their license number, etc.).

The Beauty of Working with a Realtor Who Handles Foreclosed Homes and Has HUD Money

It's ongoing work. Once a realtor uses you and you do a good job on a foreclosure cleaning job, they'll hire you again and again.