How to buy a house that's going from short sale to foreclosure..?

[Taylor Hackenberg]

Hello, total real estate newbie here. I'm in the process of looking for my first home and I'm looking a at a lot of short sales and foreclosures. I've already learned the difference between these two types of sales, but there is one house in particular that I've been very interested in that has a peculiar situation. This house has been for sale for about 9 months now as a short sale. I've made multiple cash offers, around the home's actual value, but since it was a short sale, the previous owners owed quite a bit of money on it and the bank has been holding out to try and reach their target number (which is more than the house is worth, in my opinion). 

Anyway, I was going to put another offer in, higher than my previous two, but my real estate agent informed me that the home is now being foreclosed. What does this mean for me? Do I have to wait to make another offer? How long will it be until I can make another offer on the house? Could I potentially get it for closer to my target price this way? What are the chances that the home would go straight to auction after being foreclosed? Is there a way for me to contact them and tell them I will pay cash now, rather than them going through the foreclosure process? 

I know I asked a lot of questions, so thank you to those that read everything. I look forward to getting some answers back!

Thanks,

Taylor