Fannie Mae's innovative First Look marketing period was created to promote homeownership and contribute to neighborhood stabilization — allowing homebuyers to bid and purchase foreclosed properties before they are made available to investors.

Details include:

• First Look is typically the first 15 days a property is listed on HomePath.com (Nevada is 30 days).


• Properties in the First Look period have a countdown clock on the property information page of HomePath.com displaying the days remaining to purchase.


• Eligible buyers during First Look are owner occupants*, public entities and their partners, and some non profits. 

*Owner occupants are those buyers that will occupy the property as their principal residence within 60 days of closing and will maintain their occupancy for at least 1 year. Owner-occupant purchasers are required to sign an Owner Occupant Certification as a rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum. A buyer purchasing in the name of a trust, purchasing as a vacation/part-time residence, or purchasing so another person or relative can live in the property will typically be considered an investor and not eligible during First Look.

Investor offers submitted after the First Look period expires will be considered along with all other offers.

Ask a Fannie Mae listing broker for more details. If you are concerned that the First Look marketing period is not being handled appropriately on a particular property, contact the Fannie Mae Resource Center immediately.

Many state and local housing authorities offer financing programs that can assist you with the down payment and purchase of your new home. Additionally, HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) provides homebuyer funds through special financing programs. We support public funds programs and offer additional assistance to the buyer, including the following: Earnest money requirement for individuals using public funds is only $500. Fannie Mae waives the earnest money requirement for public entities using public funds to purchase a Fannie Mae- owned property. Once an offer using NSP funds is accepted, buyers have the opportunity to renegotiate after receiving an NSP required Uniform Residential Appraisal value for the property. The standard closing period for a public funds offer is 45 days, which allows time to fulfill the NSP requirements for funding. Buyers using public funds to purchase a home can do so without competition from investors during the First Look marketing period (typically the first 15 days on the market). Sometimes HomePath® properties receive repairs and improvements before they are listed for sale. National and local vendors provide services to Fannie Mae, improving items such as flooring and paint. You can easily identify the properties that have had improvements – they will be noted by one of the two symbols below. Properties with this logo have had certain repairs performed by The Home Depot as a preferred repair contractor for Fannie Mae. The Home Depot offers a one-year limited warranty on all repairs it performed. Properties with this logo have had certain repairs performed by Fannie Mae-approved repair contractors. Please keep in mind that Fannie Mae may not repair or replace everything in a home - we always strongly recommend that buyers hire an independent home inspector prior to purchase to identify any areas that may be of concern. Fannie Mae sells its properties "as is" and is not responsible for fixing problems after a transfer of ownership.   HUD Home Sales Incentives HUD is offering several new sales incentives on HUD homes that will make these homes more affordable for homebuyers.  The incentives vary from state to state, but may include the following: Broker bonuses for owner-occupant sales $100 down payments on HUD Homes financed with FHA-insured financing Sales allowances that can be used to pay closing costs, make repairs, or pay down the mortgage amount