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http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/08/real_estate/3-down-payment-mortgage/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

So, if anyone has kept up with our home buying process, where we last left off, the house (short sale) that we were trying to buy since October, was sold at a Master Commissioner's/Sheriff sale this past week. Our realtor went to the auction to see who bought it. The bank took it back. She called the bank and they said they no longer own it. Freddie Mac owns it. She called Freddie Mac and they said it's too soon - it's in their system, but they have not taken official ownership of it yet. They said when they do, there will be a local realtor who will list the property. We had viewed another house in the area that was a Freddie Mac/Homesteps property, and on a whim, we discussed the possibility of calling that realtor to see whether they had any information about the house. We picked the right one because they said the file had just arrived, and the receptionist had it sitting on her desk right in front of her. She said they were waiting for the bank to set a price, and that they would put our name in the file as being the first to be contacted as soon as they had a price. We are back to waiting again, but we know that they are going to be close in price to our original offer because the last two appraisals it has had have been within 10k of our offer, and we are willing to go up some more if needed. Now, on to my question - we have a USDA guaranteed loan, and we are hoping to buy this Freddie Mac property. The last one we looked at was accepting contracts, not bids. I am assuming this will work out the same? Any idea on how closing costs and/or repairs go with these properties? We noticed they have a special offer of paying up to $500 on a home warranty of our choice as long as that is included in a warranty. We are in KY, so there aren't any classes offered here so we don't qualify for the 3% closing cost assistance program they mention on their website. Should we offer full asking price, or will they negotiate? What kind of time frame from the contract to the closing? How long can we expect contract negotiations? Tell me your experiences.