Considering foreclosure auction for investment purposes~need help with timing and financing questions

[Cathy Moore]

As someone new to REI, I've been quite frustrated with the market here in Denver for those properties that have hit MLS. Everything is a multiple offer situation, I've lost 2 deals so far and the one I actually got accepted fell through. Inventory is so tight right now that I've considered looking into foreclosure opportunities. I've read up a lot on the information from the public trustee website and somewhat understand the process, but I'm confused on a couple of things.

First, it looks like a ton of properties get scheduled for auction on a certain date then only 10% or less of those actually get auctioned off that date. I'm guessing the attorney delays things as they're working things out with the owner but is there any sort of final deadline they have to go to auction here? I want to keep my eye on a few properties so I know when they're going to auction. Should I call the attorney office handling the process for the bank?

Second, I realize this is a cash only method and you have to bring at least the opening amount to the auction which can be a lot of $$$$. What do people do for this who don't have that much cash sitting in the bank? I would assume private lenders or hard money, but I don't see how that's possible when you only have 2 days before you know what properties are going to auction. Is this really just a space people with a ton of cash can invest in?

Thanks for any help you can provide!!!