Buying a foreclosure -- the rules?

[Katie Levey]

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying a condo in my condo building that will go into foreclosure shortly.  It's in excellent condition (I know, I've been helping to maintain it since the owner abandoned it years ago.) The court passed a judgement of foreclosure to the bank and it's expected to go to auction in the next few months.  

I'm considering putting in an offer to the bank before it goes to auction and paying through a down payment / mortgage lender.  So here are my two questions I'm hoping the BP community has insight on:  

• Must the bank put the property up for auction or can they sell beforehand?
• If I purchase the property, do I owe past liens on the property, or are they wiped out?  

Katie