who do you contact to buy a house before auction

Is it the trustee or the lender?

i believe that you will want to contact the actual home owner if you wish to buy the property before it goes to auction. i dont think that the trustee or the lender would have any right to sell the house that still, technically, belongs to the homeowner. i have seen many auctions where the homeowner strikes a deal with the lender the day of the auction and the property is cancelled from the auction.
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The situation must make sense from the homeowner’s perspective as well as yours. if he owes 100k on first loan and has a second loan of 75k, and you only can offer him 125k because you think you can sell the home for 160k, then that situation doesnt pencil out for you or the homeowner and you will have to wait until this home actually goes to auction, which could take a while if the homeowner is fighting the foreclosure.
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hope that helps,
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Brent