A few questions on Sheriff Sales

[Alex Huang]

I'm not familiar enough with Sheriff Auctions, but I found a few properties that I have interest in and am curious if there are any strategies to acquiring the property before it reaches auction.

The auctions aren't slated to begin until Feb 2018. If the house has already been scheduled for auction, does that mean it is too late to reach out to the owner and try to buy the property from them? 

FWIW the court case record says the case is "Closed".