Buy a HUD home: Good Neighbor Next Door program for firefighters

If you are a firefighter, the federal government may help you get a home at a discounted cost.

To help revitalize neighborhoods, the federal government developed a program to offer HUD homes to firefighters at a discounted cost. Through the Good Neighbor Next Door ( GNND ) Program, firefighters buy HUD homes for half the asking price. You can participate in the program as long as you are a firefighter and you meet the requirements.

If you want to buy a foreclosed home, because the property price is already reduced, you may use the GNND program to get an even lower price. The Good Neighbor Program helps you buy a home in a revitalization area for half of its sale price.

To qualify for this program that helps firefighters buy HUD homes, you need to be employed full time as a firefighter. You must also be willing to sign a second mortgage for the remaining 50 percent of the asking price. After you live in the home for 36 months, the second mortgage becomes obsolete. You will not be charged interest or payments on this second mortgage as long as you live in the home for the required occupancy period.

To participate in this program that helps firefighters buy HUD homes, you should first check for available listings in your state. It is important to understand that available properties are often limited and can change every week. Not all government foreclosures qualify for this program, and the available homes that are eligible for this program are specific government foreclosures.

If you have questions about this program, you can look at the HUD site here , or talk to one of HUD's housing counselors. Common questions include whether you may buy a multi-family property and if you can resell the home after living there for three years. You may only buy a single family home, townhouse or condominium. After you live in the home for three years, you can sell for a profit.

The GNND Program was established to help develop safer neighborhoods while recovering some of the money lost on defaulted FHA loans. With this program, you and other firefighters can buy HUD homes at very low prices. To look at foreclosed homes in your area, go to RealtyNow for free property listings. Talk to your HUD counselor to find out if the home you like qualifies for the GNND program. If it doesn't ask the counselor about the many other government home loan programs you may use.