preforeclosure help

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I am currently looking in to pre-foreclosed homes, and trying to understand as much as possible regarding the process - however alot of information I am able to dig up seems to be some kind of pitch to buy something from someone.

Basically I recently got married and we would like to own a home before making and familly plans. We have found some homes in pre-foreclosure in our neck of the woods that are very nice (on the outside) and want to know what our next steps should be? We have tracked down the property info, as well as contact info and further information about the debt - and would now like to make contact with the owner. The home is valued at 650k, and the debt remaining is 175k. What are we supposed to offer at this point? We have been pre-approved for a mortgage however not one to cover the 650k mark that this neighborhood calls for.

If anyone could offer some insight it would be greatly appreciated!