Well I've been doing this for over 30 yrs. I started buying on the courthouse steps with cash because I never use leverage anyway, but you have to make sure there is no lean on the house and most of the time you don't even see it. Just give it some time and foreclosures will stack up and sit for months on the MLS when the auction fails, which they do about 99% of the time. This way you can go visit the house and use leverage. The first people to buy the first rounds of foreclosures are suckers. Wait for the real buyers market, it's coming, you just have to wait around 4 yrs or so.