So, we made an offer...
Recently we made an offer on a great looking 2007-build foreclosure in our area, with a trashed (though amazingly, still supportive [enough]) foundation, owing to the earthquake down here in VA a couple years ago. The price had just dropped (again) to $69k, after being on the market since January. We'd done a walkthrough, gotten our pre approval letter (FHA 203k loan) from our lender after consulting with the appropriate contractors, and concluded we'd need 60k in repairs in renovations, on the high side. However, that would still have put purchase and repair cost 70k under the most recent assessment of the property. So, we went for it. Of course, as luck would have it, two other parties decided to jump in just then, and the bank took one of their offers :-P Such is life. I'm just psyched that it pushed me to stop "preparing" to make an offer on something. As a result of trying to get this property, I found a so-far great lender, good real estate agent, got pre qualified, and dealt with the county building inspectors and a number of contractors. Which is to say, I managed to get a LOT of input for a non-deal, so I'm chalking it up as a win!