If you buy it, follow the rules and live in it for a year. It's not worth it to get caught, and it's not right to game the system. The purpose of the OO phase is to give non-investors a chance to get a good deal on a home that they may not otherwise be able to afford. I think there can be a $200,000 fine and jail time if you are caught. I read that they do check, but not only that, investors that were waiting for the property to be open to all bidders may be watching to see if you followed the rules. They will report you in a minute.I looked all this up because my husband and I bid on a HUD home without knowing it was a HUD home. We were already working with an agent, and saw a for sale sign in the yard. It did not say anything about it being a HUD home. We submitted an offer to the agent. When I asked her the next day what was happening with our offer, she gave me the www.hudhomestore.com web site. I found the house on there and saw where it was for owner occupants only. I called the realtor and told her we didn't qualify, and found out that she had submitted a bid for us as owner occupants. I googled the penalties and then nervously discussed this with my husband. We decided that if our bid was accepted that we would move into the house for a year so as to be legit, and maybe rent our current house to a friend.Thankfully, we lost the bid by about $300.