It could happen but have never seen it as there are fail safes in the system of bringing a property to auction. In the process a O&E report will have been completed to establish all known interest holders in the property and an Affidavit of Diligent Search prepared and submitted to the court. I have numerous pages of information dedicated to superior liens and encumbrances on my site
Watch Out: Is the foreclosure being brought forward for the nonpayment of mortgage or that of a lien placed against the property. There is a huge difference in the order of superiority between the two. I.E. Foreclosure is due to nonpayment of a HOA lien, then there will bad days ahead if you win the bid and there is a mortgage on the property as all mortgages recorded prior to the lien are superior. There are a lot of condo association liens being foreclosed right now and the winning bidders are crying foul, in many cases, as they believed it was a foreclosure of mortgage. One person I spoke to lately paid 40k for a condo at Dade County forelcosure auction but later found there was a $240k+ mortgage to repay.