The FHA's "First Look" Initiative's purpose is to help communities stabilize neighborhoods that have been hit hard by foreclosure. HUD Secretary, Shawn Donovan, announced this initiative giving state and local governments, and non-profit organizations participating in HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) preference to acquire homes from the Department's foreclosure inventory.

"This First Look initiative is a marriage of two programs to accelerate our effort to confront property abandonment in communities struggling to overcome the effects of the foreclosure crisis," said Secretary Donovan. "By essentially giving our Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) grantees a first bite at the apple, we hope to accelerate the sale of FHA's foreclosed properties while supporting the Obama Administration's neighborhood stabilization efforts."

HUD reports, that "the sale of HUD Homes under the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA's) First Look Sales Method will align NSP and FHA requirements to provide NSP grantees an exclusive option to purchase HUD homes before they are marketed to other purchasers."

NSP grantees will have the first chance to purchase HUD homes at a 10 percent discount.

This period will last for 2 weeks from the conveyance of the property to FHA. Unsold properties will be listed and sold in accordance with FHA procedures. This method will be in place until May 31, 2013.

Being able to purchase these properties will help communities to create jobs and rehabilitate vacant homes.

How hard are foreclosure's hitting the nation? RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reports that one in every 400 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in May. That translated to nearly 323,000 properties.

There are certain states that have more than their fair share of foreclosure activity. 10 states account for more than 70 percent of the national total. California takes the lion's share, at 22 percent. Florida, has a high level as well, at 16 percent.

You can find even more pockets of foreclosure in metro areas. The top metro area was Vallejo-Fairfield, CA, with one out of every 101 properties receiving a foreclosure notice! All metro areas listed in the top 10 were located in California, Nevada, and Florida.

Published: July 15, 2010

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Carla Hill, M.A., works on the Realty Times staff as Managing Editor for our online publication. She also is Producer for the real estate news channel, seen daily on RealtyTimes.com and on video newsletters nationwide.