Purchase before foreclosure auction

[Jordan Radke]

Does anyone have experience purchasing pre-foreclosure properties? I recently found a nice piece of land that is set to be auctioned in July according to the bank documents. Looks like the loan is held by Wells Fargo and they are like $26,000 behind in payments. What would the strategy be? Is this possible? Would I approach the owner or the bank? I would love any advice. I figure I will also talk to a real estate attorney, but thought I'd start here to see what others have experienced. Thanks!!

[Jonathan Greene]

Just because a property has a date for a courthouse steps auction does not mean it will sell on that date or any time soon. Many of them get continued over and over, especially so now, as the homeowner negotiates extensions with the bank. You will never get a contact of anyone at the bank while it is pending foreclosure so you would first need to talk to the homeowners. If you strike a deal with the homeowners for more than they owe the bank, you could intercept the process.