Your county's local housing authorities ("HA") can be good outlets for foreclosure cleanup, real estate cleaning, and other relative small business contracts. As a small business in any area of real estate contracting, a plethora of vendor opportunities exist. Why? Because several cities across the nation have benefited from millions in stimulus money poured directly into Housing Authority coffers.
Millions in Stimulus Money Dispensed to Individual Housing Authorities throughout U.S.
For example Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority in Virginia previously received $9.2 million in stimulus money; New Orleans received almost $35 million; Tampa received $10.5 million; and the federal government gave Chicago's Authority approximately $200 million in stimulus money, most of which was slated to go towards rehabbing and building. And the list goes on and on.
A good deal of the stimulus funds are being used to revitalize neighborhoods and to rehab existing housing.
Have You Registered Your Business?
If you are a contractor such as a property preservation or foreclosure cleanup business, inspector, landscaper, hauler, electrician, appraiser, plumbing company, etc., you can register your business with your local offices; and many of the vendor applications for contracts are available online.
How Does the Housing Authority Registration Process Work?
First, real estate contracting businesses should seek out the appropriate office with which to register as a vendor. Many cities have more than one office servicing an area, so make sure you research the right branch with which to register your foreclosure cleanup or real contracting business.
TIP: Register your foreclosure cleanup business with HAs in areas that are close to your business' home-base so you can properly service contracts as they come in.
Housing Authority Application
Once you find the correct housing authority office with which to register your foreclosure cleanup or contracting business, simply visit their websites and start completing applications online.
Required Follow-up Information via Mail or Fax
You may have to send follow-up information via mail or fax to complete the formal application process (i.e., completed W-9, copy of business license, proof of insurance, etc.). But you can get started immediately by filling out electronic applications online for your foreclosure cleanup business.
Once at the appropriate office's website, you will be looking for links that say something like Contracting Opportunities, Vendor Opportunities, Business Opportunities, Doing Business with the Housing Authority, etc. When you click on the appropriate links, you will be taken to an online vendor application (the application may be called a procurement application, depending on the office).
From there, simply complete the application as instructed and send out the required follow-up material to complete the process. 
Bid Solicitations Rolling In
From there, you will start getting job bid solicitations, or request for proposals (RFPs) from the housing authorities with which you register. You can also regularly check an HA's website to find out which jobs are open for bids. Search a housing authority's website for links like "Current Solicitations" or "Current Opportunities."
Once you start receiving bid solicitations, you can actually start competing for lucrative contracts for your foreclosure cleaning business.
Good luck registering your foreclosure cleanup business or your contracting service with your local housing authorities for contracting opportunities, and continued success growing your foreclosure cleanup business in 2012 and beyond!
NOTE: Throughout the internet and in real estate industry literature, you may see the names property preservation business, mortgage field services, foreclosure cleanup, foreclosure cleaning, foreclosure clean-outs, foreclosure clean, field service, clean foreclosures, cleaning foreclosures, REO trashout, REO trashouts, field asset services, property field services, and field services used interchangeable. The main thing to remember is foreclosure cleaning and foreclosure cleanup generally refer to smaller entities; while property preservation generally refers to larger companies.
Article by Cassandra Black, Author of How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business and several foreclosure cleanup industry Guides, Reports and Forms. Sign up as a Premium Newsletter Subscriber. You will periodically receive foreclosure clean-up job leads and consultative advice to help you grow your foreclosure cleanup business!
For more industry information and JOBS AND CONTRACTS, visit the foreclosure cleanup blog.
For more industry information and JOBS AND CONTRACTS, visit the foreclosure cleanup blog.
How to Get Housing Authority Contracts for Your Foreclosure Cleanup Business
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