San Diego Question- Newbie Alert

[Laura Ellis]

There is a house that was foreclosed in May 2011 - bank value listed on MLS as 525k. I know that the previous owners just moved out a couple weeks ago (I have a friend that lives in the neighborhood.)

A home with the exact same layout was sold a .10 a mile away for 215/sq foot. (450k) This house was in beautiful shape.

The home that is bank owned now is in kind of bipolar condition. The kitchen and bathrooms need work but the rest of the house looks updated in the last 5 or so years.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get the bank to talk to us? Do we need to wait for it to be listed for sale on the MLS? It is owned by OneWest Bank. We were thinking of offering 191.85/squ foot (400k) - hoping to get approved at 205/ per square foot or so.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.