Tips on sheriff sale/foreclosure in Pittsburgh

[Kelly Nicholas]

Hi! I'm interested in a property listed as pre foreclosure/auction in Allegheny county. It was scheduled for sheriff sale but has been postponed until September because of the pandemic. This is a large property and it would be for my primary residence. It appears they owe over 400k on the mortgage and over $220k in tax liens. I didn't run a title search yet so there may be more unknowns. I have been advised by a foreclosure specialist to avoid this house at auction and wait until it is an REO property. My real estate agent approached the owner to sell ahead but he said no. So here's my questions:

1. What are the chances a property similar to this would actually sell at auction to an investor (not the bank) with those kinds of figures? 
2. what would the next steps be in the bank gets the property at auction? 3. If the bank does acquire it at auction, is there any way to have an arrangement made to buy and to avoid the house going to the MLS?

Any insight would be appreciated!