Buying a house before auction

[Jeff Pracht]

Hello, im looking at a couple houses going up for county foreclosure auction very soon. Im trying to get my ducks in a row to buy them at auction with bank financing but would rather try to buy them or get them under contract before the auction and buy them from the current owner. Can you buy a house from the owner when its scheduled for auction in a week? How do you go about doing so with a mortgage? Do I try to contact the owner and agree on a price before going to the bank to get approved or do I go to the bank before contacting the owner? I have no experience with real estate an am trying to find out my options. Thanks in advance