Foreclosures? How do the sell of these properties work?

erika asked:


Ok. There’s this house for sale. It’s worth about $50,000 more than what they are asking. It is a foreclosure. I searched public records and it appears in the sales record that a bank aquired the property back in January and the price that is listed is about $20,000 less than the appraisal which is the same amount the first owner purchased the home for. Is that price that is listed where the bank took it back the amount owed on the mortgage and the amount they are wanting now?

I made an offer on the house for about $10,000 over asking but that’s still $15,000 less than what the bank got the property for. Did I offer too little? There are already multiple offers on the house. Did they price it so low just to get attention?
But wouldn’t people be more apt to offering $20,000 over asking just because they knew they’d still be getting the house at $30,000 below appraisal or something? I mean would someone offer that much more knowing the asking price was what it is? I figured someone would see this as an easy money making opportunity and blow my offer out of the water.
It’s not being sold by the bank though.. An actual realty company is handling it. Sorry.. these questions might sound dumb but it’s the first offer I’ve ever made … This would be my first house.