By KENNETH R. HARNEY

WASHINGTON – If you’re planning to shop for a home in the coming few weeks, here’s an early spring buying season come-on that just might save you some money if you qualify.

Fannie Mae, the largest mortgage investor in the country, has a bulging portfolio of houses acquired through foreclosures nationwide. Roughly 31,000 of these properties are listed on its “HomePath” (www.homepath.com) resale marketing site. To move them quickly out of inventory, Fannie temporarily is offering qualified owner-occupant purchasers – but not investors – cash incentives toward closing costs of 3.5 percent of the purchase price. But you have to submit your initial offer no later than March 31 and close by May 31.

To ensure that buyers who intend to occupy its homes get an opportunity to fully check them out and bid without competition from investment groups offering all-cash deals, Fannie has instituted what it calls a “First Look” program. It essentially prohibits bids from investors on properties during the first 20 days after listing (30 days in Nevada). After that, investors are free to jump in. Each First Look listing has a countdown clock attached to it that indicates the number of days remaining before bidding is opened to all comers.

The new 3.5 percent closing cost offer is only available during active First Look periods from mid-February through March, so there’s not a lot of time to get involved. Bidders will need to indicate up front that they want to be considered for a closing costs discount.

Who is eligible? Number one, you’ve got to be a bona fide owner-occupant purchaser and commit to live in the house as a primary residence for at least a year. You don’t have to be a first-time buyer, though the Fannie program is likely to attract substantial numbers of them. The 3.5 percent closing cost discount helps with one of the biggest problems faced by first-timers – up-front cash.

As with most home purchases, you’ll need to be able to qualify for mortgage financing.

While you shop on HomePath, however, keep this important factor in mind: These are foreclosed, previously occupied homes. Though some of them are repaired, painted and spiffed up before they are listed, many could use some additional work. They are sold “as is” and that’s built into the pricing.

Contact the writer: kenharney@earthlink.net