More foreclosures might be coming after the Covid forbearances and foreclosure postponements....but lots of equity now in many if not most homes, so foreclosure is typically not the issue it once was right now.REOs are also not always the best deals too, like most people think they are...typically not pennies on the dollar. 

Will it be a quick decision, will it be postponed, etc.  4) if I should get the property, what happens next?

You just have to identify the properties you find desirable and how much you are willing to pay, then hope it actually goes to sale (and isn't postponed or stayed) and then hope you can get the winning bid below your max bid number.

I sat down with them and demonstrated that they could improve the efficiency of the house by over 50% with an 8 - 12 % increase in materials cost or, postpone finishing the basement and actually spend less.  

My understanding is that with deflation, people postpone purchases on the expectation that prices will continue to fall, which perpetuates the cycle.

That would (hopefully) result in the postponement of the sheriff's sale.

How long before the sale can you still get it postponed?

That has been several months ago and has been postponed each time to the next month.

i too began looking at real estate back around 2011. and as@Chris Milan mentioned i was lured in by a a great salesman i saw on tv. the great thing is being as stubborn as i was back then. i decided to post pone my entry and become a Realtor so that i could  know the in and outs of the business by the legal side of things as a real estate agent. so yes they aren't kidding when they say not all Real Estate Agents are the same.but i digress i learned the hard way how muddy it is on that side of the business. but because of this i hesitated. then became active communicating with others in the business and i incorporated my LLC last year.  

And, more importantly, like I mentioned above, if you consult a good CPA or tax strategist, they can help you structure your business in a way that you pay less in tax and/or allow you to postpone paying taxes.