A HUD contract has a hard closing date, and HUD does not move it for free. The good news is the rules are printed and the fees are fixed. Here is the clock.
The deadline
- Financed purchase: 45 days from the date HUD signs the contract (the acceptance date on the HUD-9548 sales contract).
- Cash purchase: 30 days.
- The clock starts when HUD signs, not when you bid and not when you were notified you won.
Extensions
If you cannot close on time you request an extension through your agent, on HUD’s form, before the deadline. Extensions are granted in 15-day blocks, and the fee is paid up front by cashier’s check:
| Sales price | Fee per 15 days |
|---|---|
| $25,000 or less | $375 |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | $500 |
| Over $50,000 | $750 |
Almost every Colorado HUD home is over $50,000, so plan on $750 per extension. The fee is nonrefundable if you fail to close. If you close within the extension, the unused days are not refunded either. HUD is not obligated to grant an extension at all; it wants to see that the lender is actively working the file.
When HUD waives the fee
If the delay is HUD’s (a title defect on HUD’s side, the closing agent not ready, a lead-paint stabilization job not finished), HUD grants the extension at no charge. Your agent has to ask and explain. This is the single most common way buyers waste $750: the delay was HUD’s and nobody said so.
Why HUD loans run late
- The lender did not order the FHA case number transfer on day 1.
- A 203(k) loan with a contractor bid and a consultant report, which needs all 45 days and often more.
- The buyer’s utility activation for the appraisal took two weeks. How utility activation works.
- A down payment assistance program that needs its own underwriting. Which programs add time.
How to avoid paying for one
- Use a lender who has closed HUD homes before and knows the case-number transfer.
- Get the utilities on and the inspection done in week one.
- Have your DPA program pre-approved before you bid, not after.
- Ask for the extension a week early, with a letter from the lender saying the loan is approved pending closing conditions.
A plain-English example
A buyer in Aurora with a 203(k) loan hit day 40 with the consultant’s report done but the appraisal not back. Her agent requested a 15-day extension on day 41 with the lender’s letter and a $750 cashier’s check. HUD granted it. She closed on day 52. Total cost of the delay: $750. If she had waited until day 46 to ask, HUD could have cancelled and kept her earnest money.
Not sure which rule applies to the house you are looking at? Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers, and the answer is free.
Written and reviewed by
Brian Lee Burke, Colorado HUD home specialist and team leader
Licensed Colorado real estate professional since 2002 · REALTOR® · Team leader and licensed broker of the Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a HUD-registered group that regularly bids on HUD homes · Author of The Real Estate Playbook and Mastering Real Estate. Brian’s full HUD biography.
Last reviewed: September 10, 2026 · Sources: HUD Home Store (hudhomestore.gov) and HUD program guidance, HUD Handbook 4000.1, REcolorado MLS data via kennarealestate.com, and the Kenna Real Estate Group’s own HUD transaction files.
Contact: call or text 303-955-4220 or homes@kennarealestate.com. During office hours you reach a live local Kenna real estate professional, not a robot or a national call center. Brokerage: Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams Realty DTC, LLC, 6300 S Syracuse Way, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80111. Each Keller Williams office is independently owned and operated. The Kenna Real Estate Group is an independent real estate team and is not affiliated with or endorsed by HUD or any government agency; official property information comes from HUD Home Store. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Free guide, PDF
The Colorado HUD Home Buyer's Playbook
How HUD bidding really works, the nine ways buyers lose, and the bid worksheet. 18 pages, free.
Why you want it before you bid:
- The 15-day owner-occupant window, day by day, so you never miss a deadline
- The net-to-HUD math HUD actually scores, with a one-page bid worksheet
- The nine ways buyers lose a HUD home, and how each one is avoided
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