Living in Douglas County and as a Certifiedd Distressed Proprerty Expert we come across this a lot. As the previous Realtors have covered most of the bases you need to know what is out there on or off the market. Most investors look for the ugliest houses and then fix them up, most times they spend too much money on them or incurr hidden costs. There are so many properties you can walk into and when you back out the costs of time and rehab are so much better for your wallet. That been said depending on purchase price and a comprehensive estimate if the math works buy it.
If you have questions or wnat to meet for a coffee feel free to contact me.

Just to add to Mack's advice, when making an offer on the property, make sure the lender is aware of the condition of the property. Although the property probably was in that condition when the BPO (broker's price opinion) was done, some BPOs are done with drive-bys and comps, without a real inside inspection of the property. Your Realtor will be able to help you on this.

Good luck.

In stead of what is required by law, which was answered correctly by the previous two agents, let's look at what can be done to help you obtain the property. From the financing standpoint you could do a rehab loan to fix the place up. You could include a special stipulation in the contract requiring the seller repair certain items with the home prior to your purchasing it. No matter which way you elect to go, I hope you are working with a REALTOR that is experienced in foreclosure transactions. If you need assistance feel free to contact me.

Douglas,

Nfeldman is partly right. Depending on what TYPE of loan you get there might be requirements.

If the home is habitable (not condemned) then you should likely be able to purchase the home. The seller has absolutely no obligations, liabilities or requirements to sell the property. In fact, in order to purchase the home, you are likely to sign something that waives any future rights in those regards.

Nothing is required by law. Lots of things are required by lender.

If you plan to finance the purchase, this may not be the house for you as most lenders will not provide a mortgage secured by an unihabitable property.

If you're paying cash, make an offer based on the as-is condition of the home knowing that only other cash buyers can make the purchase - you can get great (but tons of work) values this way.

If you're planning to/need to get a loan, have a conversation with your lender about the minimal standards they will accept to collateralize a property and then make sure the property meets that standard before you waste your time negotiating a transaction only to find out you can't get funding.

Generally the listing agent of an REO/foreclosure will know whether or not financing is available on their property or if it's a cash only opportunity/risk - you can always inquire. In some cases the bank with the property will make a new loan on the property to a new borrower (you), but not always.

Good luck, always start with the money/buying power.