Buying Foreclosures Before Auction

[Richard D. Sanders III]

Hi,

I have a friend who works for the banks on their foreclosures. His job is to go into a house once they have been foreclosed on and submit a bid to fix the house up. He is also in charge of keeping the lawns mowed for the banks and makes great money doing this. He has obtained so much business that he cannot handle all the lawns by himself (lots of foreclosures in Wichita, KS). I have been helping him take care of the lawns and get to see foreclosures all over our area.

My friend has these houses sit in foreclosure for 6 months too 3 years depending how long it takes the bank to accept a bid and pay him to fix up the properties. My friend will then give his inspection pass which allows the bank to take the property to auction.

**I'm new to this and I believe this is accurate but could be a little off**

My question is am I able to approach the banks before they poor more money into these properties and offer to buy the house straight from them? Bypassing any auction and competitors and before the bank spends money fixing the properties up? 

This seems like it would give someone a great opportunity to buy properties for less than they would get it at an auction. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated! 

Thanks

[Michael Kiley]

If the bank owns the house, it's because they were the highest bidder at the sheriff's sale. Many banks have large inventories of homes to sell and some may be willing to work with you. Sounds like the best thing you could do is find a home you like and ask. Best of luck.