A foreclosure sale is the final step in a process that lets a lender take over and sell property used as collateral for a loan when the borrower defaults or stops making payments.

Some investors can make money buying homes at foreclosures sales, but it’s not as easy as some Web sites would have you believe.

When the real estate market is healthy, it’s hard to find a deal because borrowers who run into trouble paying their mortgage can sell their home before foreclosure.

When the economy and the real estate market are both weak, defaults and foreclosures tend to increase. An investor might be able to buy the house at a discount, but with so many other homes on the market, he might have to wait for several years to sell it at a profit.

For more on the foreclosure process, see http://www.realtytrac.com/education/noframes/overview.html