Can you buy a house before its sold at tax auction?

[Adam Paxton]

I am looking at listings that are being scheduled to sell at the upcoming los angeles tax auction and was just curious if you are able to purchase these properties straight from the homeowner before they are auctioned off. Im guessing there would have to be some negotiating with county tax offices or other interested parties to get approval but was just curious if this was even an option or if they were just simply off limits once they were already scheduled to go at auction. Thanks