Buying forclosure prior to auction

[Tyler Kurz]

We found a property that is going through the foreclosure process. It is scheduled to go to auction at the county court house in a month. We had our real estate agent look into the property for us and had a title company pull a report. From what we can tell there are no liens on the property and we could afford to offer more than what is owed to the bank and escrow.

We're new to foreclosures, so my question here is at this point could we purchase the property directly from the owner before auction?

We also know the property is currently occupied by the owner, and the retail value is probably about 2x to 3x what is owed. We feel like we are missing something here? If it goes to auction and sells for more than what is owed where do the additional funds go? Owner, bank, county? In this situation, when it would even need to go to short sale, why wouldn't the owner put it on the market and walk away with cash?