How to get properties from the bank

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I've been reading on here for some time now, planning, watching and saving. Here are some questions I've come up with based on reading here and there.

Once you've located a property and searched public records to find out who owns it, how do you go and get it from them? For me, I've been keeping an eye on other condos in my area, because I feel better working with something I know a bit. I've located several that are in different situations - some in the early stages of foreclosure, others have already been foreclosed on, some have been empty for months.

My question is pretty simple...when you find something like that, can you just call up the bank and say, 'I'm interested in the property at (wherever)?' My brother is a commercial lender in the area, and he has a lot of resources for things like this. Do I need to have him call up one of his realtor friends to call the bank for me? How does it usually work?

Thanks,

-Mike