Making a deal before foreclosure

[Albert Lee]

Hey everyone,

Im trying to find ways to find a deal and thought I should call or mail the owner who is about 3weeks or more away from the court auction foreclosure. As i have been doing the research and lurking posts, I still had a couple of questions I wasnt sure.

1. How do I exactly know how much the owner owes? For instance, the owner could exaggerate the amount he owes $15,000 when it is actually $10,000 or vice versa he could under tell you. I know we could take a look on the public record to see what lien the owner has but is there a way we can find how much exactly he owes?

2. After I make a successful negotiation with the owner, do I write a contract as what we do as we normally buy a property someone? (Assuming you are paying over what the owner owes).

I would appreciate if any experts could clarify these two parts. Also, I would really really appreciate any experts on these deals could give me advice on working these types of deals.