I've always had an avid interest in real estate investing and have owned many investment homes over the years. Along with my normal responsibilities as a real estate sales associate, I also work as an investor. Over the years I've learned many lessons that I now find to be almost instinctual. Some were learned the hard way, many from other investors. My partner and I were walking through a home and he noticed that I moved very cautiously across the floor. I thought I might share with you my reasons for this.
When you enter a bank owned or foreclosure home, make certain you take your time walking across each room's flooring. There are a couple of reasons.
First and foremost, you should be very careful since often, needed repairs will have been ignored or set aside due to the previous owner's lack of funds. I've been in homes that had termite problems, where 1/2" rather than 3/4" plywood was used to repair a flooring hole. Since it's very possible they may have used whatever was laying around... well you see the picture. Falling through a damaged floor is hard on the bones.
The second issue is potential repair costs. If you are paying close attention, you can feel changes in the levelness of the floor, soft areas that may require pulling out flooring to the base, and other items that could present an unpleasant surprise after you begin the demo portion of repairs.
Forewarned is forearmed 
Bud Cooke, GRI, e-PRO®, Charles Rutenberg Realty, Inc. Serving Pinellas County, Florida and the Gulf Beaches
Visit us at http://www.Selling-Pinellas.com, & http://www.BudCooke.com. Write to Bud@BudCooke.com or call at 727-459-5460.