$220k home in 'A' neighborhood going to auction starting at 59k

[Daniel Dittmeyer]

Hi!

I recently found a home that's being auctioned in a few weeks that has an ARV of ~200k+. I started digging into it after checking it out in person and seeing it was still occupied. The homeowner bought the house in Jan, 1992. They paid 110k for it, and received an LP in November of 2019. The home currently is worth somewhere in the lower 200s. They have at least 170k equity if I'm doing my math right.

I didn't understand how this home could fall into foreclosure, so I decided to try and reach out to the homeowner. I knocked and left a message on their camera doorbell, and then came back the next day and dropped off a handwritten note. I waited two days and came back again and just caught a gentleman who said he was her son outside and had a talk with him. He claimed to not know the house was being auctioned, or perhaps he just thought I was a scammer and didn't believe me. 

As you can imagine there are a lot of investors catching wind of this deal and we expect a lot of people at the auction, which is why I'm trying to get it before it goes. This whole deal has seemed strange, a lot of people seem dumbfounded as to how any of this could have happened in the first place. The son said she had a stroke, and was in the house. There are a couple cars that come by everyday at a schedule, so perhaps she's getting in home healthcare. He also said she would just pay the note, but told me to scoop it up at auction, as well. I thought maybe he was being sarcastic... I'm at a standstill here. 

Is it normal for a foreclosure to take 2 years and the owner not be aware that it is happening? What would happen if it gets sold at auction? Could it be overturned by courts when they try and evict the homeowner? Should I continue trying to reach the homeowner to scoop it before it gets to auction?

Thanks,

Daniel