Foreclosure filings in the Denver area fell about 1.6 percent in the third quarter of this year, but there are still quite a few of them. More than 9,200 properties---or one in every 113 households---in the Denver-Aurora area are in some stage of the process, according to the Denver Business Journal. The foreclosures are a sad commentary on how some families have been hit hard by the recession. But they can also be seen as an opportunity---if you can find the cash. And plenty of buyers are finding great deals once they discover how to navigate the hidden costs of auctions. Andy Schultheiss tells CBS4 he purchased a four-bedroom, 2,300-square-foot house in Boulder---once worth $880,000---for just $440,000 (plus $22,000 in fees) through the auction process. "It's pretty crazy. I was a little confused while we were going through the numbers. In fact, I out-bid myself once because I didn't know who had won the bid. But by the end I was the one left standing," Schultheiss says. The home isn't his yet; the bank has the final word on the sale and can refuse.