Can I make an offer straight to the owners of a foreclosure?

[Carly Lynch]

Can you go straight to the owners of a foreclosure and make an offer before the auction date? What are the legalities when it comes to this?

[Jonathan Greene]

You can make an offer on a foreclosure, but unless your offer is higher than the upset value, you aren't going to stop a foreclosure from happening. Once it's pending and has been set and docketed at the courthouse, the homeowner can accept an offer, but it would still need to be approved by the bank if there have been lis pendens filed. You need to find out the upset value (how much they owe on the mortgage plus back taxes plus any liens) and then try to match that, but don't expect the homeowner to accept and for it to go smoothly. Once paperwork has been filed, the bank is a party to the transaction.