Why not? It's certainly not YOUR fault that someone didn't pay their mortgage. I have a friend who ONLY buys "distressed" homes. He has a contact at the bank who will let him know beforehand which ones are getting ready to go into foreclosure and if it's an attractive balance, he'll offer the owner's to buy them out or a short sale. This actually HELPS the owners as it keeps a foreclosure off their credit report. But he's also bought them off the courthouse steps.
The local banks around here regularly have repossessed cars out front you can buy.
I tried to buy the lot next to mine for years - they would have made a profit off it. But instead, they let the tax office take it for back taxes and I bought it for 10% of what I had offered them. I certainly can't control their actions but I WILL do what's best for me
