One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.

William “Lucky” Douglas is proof, selling abandoned furniture and other household items left in the wake of Michigan foreclosures for rock-bottom prices at his “part-flea market, part-thrift shop, part-garage sale” shop called “Lucky & Nisan’s Unique Boutique.”

Foreclosure cleanout crews are often tasked with “taking out the garbage,” rekeying doors and securing properties that go through the foreclosure process. Banks rely on these companies to clean the slate, so to speak, after the homeowners leave and/or are evicted.

Often, the contents of the homes are hauled straight to the local dump. Douglas realized that a lot of good stuff was going to waste, so he decided to do something about it, according to Monroe News.

Here’s a snip:

“I have a friend who has a business where he goes in and cleans out the foreclosures. He had me come in and get the scrap metal and appliances. Then I started noticing all the good stuff people were leaving behind in these homes. I started storing it – I guess I’m a pack rat – and then we opened up a store and started selling it… Whatever’s left behind that the people either didn’t want or couldn’t take. I felt bad at first, but then I figured it could fill a need for other people.”

Douglas is quick to point out the the items homeowners leave behind are fair game for someone in his position — he’s just taking the time to sell the stuff that others either didn’t want or couldn’t take with them.

And, like the homes from which the items come, he offers the merchandise at “firesale prices.” Air conditioners, power tools, bicycles, clothes glassware, knickknacks, books and other “decorative” items are all featured in his shop, with price tags as low as $1.

The “junk” that doesn’t sell is donated to second-hand and/or charitable stores in the area. It’s recycling at its finest.

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It’s no secret that foreclosures often offer buyers and investors significant discounts on home purchases.

Today, the brainiacs at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard proved it with 12 years of research, revealing that “foreclosure reduces the value of a house by an average of 27 percent.”

MIT economist and study author, Parag Pathak, was surprised with the “large” finding.

Here’s a snip:

“It’s not surprising that there is a discount due to foreclosure. But it is surprising that it’s so large.”

Probate homes, which are those sold after the death of an owner, save buyers about 5 to 7 percent on average. Bankruptcy homes, meanwhile, reduce prices by about 3 percent.

Keep in mind that these are all averages, meaning that you can likely score even greater deals with a quick search on Foreclosure.com.

But we doubt that you would mind nearly a 30 percent discount (at the very least) on your next home purchase.

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Yes, it can and will if you stop paying dues.

In fact, 34 states allow Homeowners Associations (HOAs) to foreclose on homes through judicial foreclosure in as few as 10 days (Florida). Of course, there are redemption periods — some as many as 180 days (Texas) — during which homeowners can bring their balances current and keep their homes.

But many simply don’t have the financial means or simply lack the desire to keep tossing precious dollars into “money pits.”

Robert Tankel, a Florida attorney, represents HOAs throughout the “Sunshine State.” He tells CNBC.com that the HOA foreclosure business is “booming.”

Here’s a snip:

“People don’t understand that by failing to pay the association dues they can lose their home and be put in the street…. The associations and their boards of directors have a duty to the people who pay and the duty is to collect the assessments.”

HOAs have bills to pay, too, which is among the many reasons they are so aggressive about collecting dues.

If an HOA falls behind on its payments to service providers, it can affect its ability to attract new homeowners to the community — “big banks want to see healthy HOAs” — and provide services for the homeowners who are paying their bills on time.

HOAs have the ability to move much quicker than overwhelmed lenders.

For example, it might take a lender a year or more to begin the process of foreclosure because of the paperwork backlog. HOAs, meanwhile, can “swoop in, take title, boot the borrower, and either rent or sell the home for a good six to twelve months before the bank comes in with the far bigger lien and forecloses again.”

So if you find yourself in a foreclosure situation, and intend to wait it out until the bank gets around to filing the official paperwork, do yourself a favor and, at the very least, continue to pay your HOA on time.