what else should i know about buying a house at auction

[Tom Ruzzo]

Hi there.. relatively new to the forums. I've been attempting to buy a house at public auction... was originally a short sale (seller agreed, but bank didn't). I'm trying to get a sense of what to expect on the auction date. Seller tells me they are trying to convince the bank to work with us (house was on the market for a while, and needs a lot of work ~150k easily). original bid was for 800k, and since the listing was removed, I've told the seller we could get to 875k if that helps them at all.. but, no way to know if they have conveyed this to the lender. neighboring houses generally in 1.1mm - 1.4mm range, so it makes sense for us (we plan to live there for 20+yrs), but not for the average person looking in this price range (nobody wants this kind of project). I've been under the assumption they owe ~$885k. Where can I expect the starting bid to be? I've tried calling trustee, lender, foreclosing agent... anyone. but, I'm getting frustrated. Any other things I can do to get more information, or way to get in front of the lender? trying to do what I can, but not sure I even know what that is right now...