I look at the house and had an inspector there the next day. The findings of the inspector led me to veto t e house. If i didnt have the inspector tell me what was wrong and estimate the repair costs I might have gotten stuck with the house.

I think the banks are just trying to dump crappy homes on the market and people think they are getting a good deal b/c its a foreclosure. Lesson learned for me.

My rule of thumb is to offer 20% - 30% less than the asking price to ensure you have money for the repairs.

Buying a foreclosed home is a risk, no doubt. A lot of waht you are buying is the deal. Especially these days. I find that if you look long enough you can balane a good deal without a whole lot of fixing up, relatively. It takes time more than anything else, but it is the trade off for getting a good deal on house. I am looking right now, and I find that I can buy more house than I originally thought I could afford, but, most of the homes I am looking at do need work. Just a part of the bargain.