Contracting with HUD
What does HUD buy?
HUD purchases a wide range of services and goods. Typical Headquarters Office purchases include information technology (IT) software development and systems maintenance, IT hardware/office automation equipment and systems maintenance, program management support services, advertising for the sale of HUD properties, technical assistance to HUD program recipients, and training.
HUD field offices procure services and goods under several programs. Under the Single Family and Multi-family Real Estate Owned Programs, HUD manages and sells single family and multifamily properties. These programs provide great opportunities to do business with HUD in several areas. HUD enters into contracts with private firms to manage and/or operate properties owned by or in the custody of HUD. HUD and its property management contractors also contract for a variety of related services, such as property cleaning/debris removal, lawn maintenance, snow removal, defective paint removal, plumbing, and electrical repairs.
In addition to contracting for services on HUD-owned and Secretary-held real estate, we contract with firms to perform many mortgage insurance processing services. Some of these services include appraisals, mortgage credit analysis, underwriting analysis, construction inspections, construction cost analysis, and title services.
What doesn't HUD buy?
Like most federal agencies, the largest percentage of HUD's supplies and products are purchased through the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). If you provide a product, talk to people at GSA about opportunities to market and sell your product.
People associate HUD with buildings and most expect HUD to purchase significant construction and Architect/ Engineering (A&E) services. However, the Department contracts for relatively small amounts of these services. If the cost is expected to exceed $25,000, the opportunity will be posted on the "Current Contracting Opportunities" page at the HUD web site, http://www.hud.gov. In addition to contracting directly with HUD, there may be opportunities for small companies to subcontract with the prime contractors found at HUD's web site.
HUD buys supplies and services through a variety of contracting procedures governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). HUD uses three types of procurement methods: simplified acquisition procedures, sealed bidding and negotiation.
What are "Simplified Acquisition Procedures"?
Simplified Acquisition Procedures is the new term the federal government uses for what used to be known as Small Purchasing. These are simple, streamlined methods for making individual purchases that do not exceed $100,000. Purchases over $2,500 but not exceeding $100,000 are reserved exclusively for small businesses. Purchases under $2,500 may be made from either large or small businesses, and usually are made with a government credit card.
What is Sealed Bidding?
HUD uses the Sealed Bidding method when price is the primary factor in determining contract award. This method does not allow any discussions or negotiations between HUD and the bidders concerning either the work requirement or the price. When using the Sealed Bidding method, HUD issues an Invitation for Bids (IFB), stating exact requirements. Once bids are received on a specified date, they are publicly opened and read. A contract is then awarded to the responsible bidder who submitted the lowest, responsive bid.
What is Negotiated Contracting?
Negotiated Contracting is used when price is not the determining factor in contract award, or when factors other than price (i.e., technical expertise) must be considered. HUD uses two methods of Negotiated Contracting:
• Tradeoff, where the contract is awarded to the proposal representing the best value, considering technical ability and price.
• Lowest-Priced Technically-Acceptable, where contract award is made to the lowest-price offered among those that meet specified minimum technical requirements.
When using the negotiated method, HUD issues a Request for Proposals (RFP). Once proposals are received, they are evaluated by a panel of technical experts using only the evaluation factors specified in the RFP.
Contract award may sometimes be made without discussions or negotiations. Normally however, a competitive range is determined based on the technical evaluation results. Discussions are then held with the offerors in the competitive range and each offeror is given an opportunity to submit final proposal revisions. Offers submitted in response to an RFP are confidential and are not released outside the evaluation panel.