Financing for a HUD flip!!

[Rebecca Morrell]

Hi everyone!

I have made my first foray into real estate investment this week, and subsequently I have many random posts flying around the forum, so I'm going to post this several different places...

Basically the story is this: Found a HUD property that is a rare gem for my area in Maine, and after having several contractors give estimates, my partner and I decided that it would be a great rehab flip if we could get it for a certain price.

We made a bid with him using FHA financing as an Owner-Occupant because 1.) we wanted to get in during the Owner-Occupant initial period of bidding and we do plan on living there for a while during renovations, and 2.) we don't have a lot of money to put down right now because we weren't planning on finding a great deal so soon.

The first bid was very low and subsequently rejected, and we don't feel comfortable going much higher using FHA financing in his name because we are so new to the game... However, I am interested in possibly finding a way to get private financing for the cost of the house plus repairs.

Having never worked with anything aside from conventional financing before, can anyone offer some advice or opinions on the situation? From my precursory research and understanding of hard money lending, it is most beneficial in short term flips, and usually only for the purchase price; is this correct?

In this case I would need to finance the purchase price plus some extra for remodeling (mostly cosmetic), and also be able to hold it for 3-5 months until resell.

Can anyone recommend a way to finance this deal?

Any help would be wonderful and much appreciated, as I have already learned so much from the experts on the forum!

Thanks :)