Definitely seek professional advice unless you already understand how to search the title, what it says, and how the process works. Procedures vary - a lot - from state to state in terms of how the sale is conducted, the status of other liens on the property, the length and degree of redemption rights belonging to the owner and foreclosed junior liens* , Bankruptcy rights, strategies to get ahead of others, etc, etc, etc. Chances are after a few you'd get the hang of it, but having represented clients in the process, I would definitely start out with professional advice - both legal and real estate market type advice.
Strangely enough, I'd also suggest watching some the of the flip and flop HGTV series. Not for the legal end, but what happens with these properties if the goal is to buy and the re-sell. They are a bit over-dramatized (of course), but the folks who are successful are buying property that needs work; sometime a lot. So your capital risk is not only the cash for the property itself, but the costs associated with improving it.
(*in many/most states, liens junior to the mortgage being foreclosed are wiped out by the sale. Some of those lienholders may be your competitors at bidding, especially if the property is worth something "as is." They, and the owner, also typically have the right to redeem the property by paying off the high bidder within a certain amount of time, so there's no guarantee that your successful bid means you actually get the property)
