A: The foreclosure process can take several months, giving the owner time to bring mortgage payments up to date. If that doesn't happen, the foreclosure is completed and the owner loses the property. At that point there's a public auction and "you can buy a foreclosure in one day," says Michael Lappano, a real-estate agent who specializes in foreclosures.

In Washington, foreclosure auctions occur every Friday sometime between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at designated locations. King County homes are auctioned at two locations beginning at 10 a.m. They are in front of the King County Administration Building, 500 Fourth Ave, and next to the south entrance of Northwest Trustee Services, 3535 Factoria Blvd. S.E. in Bellevue.

Pierce County foreclosed homes are auctioned outside the County Courthouse, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma. Snohomish County's are held at its courthouse: 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Both of these auctions also have 10 a.m. start times.

"If buyers did their research, technically they could go out and look at the house on Thursday night and buy it Friday," adds Lappano, who works for Dean Street & Associates, a John L. Scott Real Estate office in Bellevue. Often buyers can only view the foreclosed property from the outside.

To land the house they need to have the highest bid and pay the full amount in cash (or cashier's check) on the spot. Homes are sold as-is, sales are final, and buyers get possession within three weeks.

Tracking foreclosures in 16 counties throughout the state, Lepano says about 120 houses are auctioned each Friday. The bulk are in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.