Making a Deal on a Foreclosure

[JP P.]

Hi all, I appreciate the advice in advance.

There is a property on my block that I am HIGHLY interested in as a rental.  The property is listed under foreclosure on Zillow (which means it really could have been sold by now) and I called the Foreclosure Trustee listed.  I was only told to call the owner.  This leads me to believe the proerty may still be available.

I've done my research, found the owner/address/telephone number/occupation/etc (Thanks Google!!) Apparently the owner is foreclosing on 2 properties!!  The market price is ~110K from the info on Zillow the unpaid balance is ~92k.  I'm looking at trying to approach the owner in the best way possible to make a deal less than the unpaid balance.  I do not have any rapport with the owner and need some advice on the best way to approach. have a realtor approach, should I call the owner directly, find a foreclosure specialist to approach??  Any advice, I'm open.

I would like to try to help this owner potenially sell for a loss, not go through a foreclosure on one of their two homes, and see what comes of it......