Q: I'd like your list of all the cheap foreclosures on Vashon.

I've seen ads on TV saying you can buy houses for just a few hundred dollars and that's what we want to do. We see ads for house that are only $75,000 or so on TV. Even if it's a fixer, I think my wife and I can do the work.

A: There are very few houses for sale here that are in foreclosure, but I can send you those listings. I must warn you however, that you won't be buying any house in Washington for a few hundred dollars down. That may work in Florida or Alabama, I don't know, but the banks that have foreclosed on these houses want well-qualified buyers with good credit, a reasonable down payment, and sufficient income to cover the payments.
You need to meet with a reputable lender to find out what you are qualified to spend on a house and to get pre-approved. A pre-approval letter is almost always required on all offers on properties owned by banks.

Although prices have dropped here, like elsewhere, our lowest priced homes are in the mid to high $200,000 range, but most are over $300,000. That's still a bargain for Vashon but certainly not the prices you're seeing on television.
We experienced a drop of about 8-12% over the last year, and for Vashon, that's significant. Some of the few foreclosed homes we have are listed even lower. It's possible to get a house here for well under its assessed value, but that's still likely to be over $250,000 at the lowest end.

Some of the foreclosures we have are high end homes. That means you might be able to buy a house that would have sold for $650,000 a year or so ago, but can be purchased today for $525,000. That's an incredible deal.

You should also be sure that a lender will be comfortable helping you buy a "fixer." Some fixers will need a construction loan and that's a different kind of loan with different requirements.