re: If a piece of property is going to the sheriffs sale

The bank has no title, so you have to purchase from the owner. However, you would have to pay off the bank who has already foreclosed, so you would need to work with them too. If the owner is an investor the bank may be working with them already. If it's someone's home, that is going to be a difficult process stopping the sale. Bank will generally only bid up to the note, so it's possible you can get a decent deal via sheriff sale if note is less than property value. At the sale, you have to be able to come up with the $ within a few hours of the auction.