I am a buyer that has been trying to buy a short sale since May 2012.  The house was abandoned in 2011 and thieves have stolen the copper plumbing and the wiring and the house is a mess.  Regardless of that, we think the house has potential and want to refurb it.  We are not house flippers and have no intention of reselling it.  The problem is that the house was overappraised, and as it sits, it continues to deteriorate but the investor is not yet willing to take our offer.  Our offer is about 25K below their asking price.  All that being said.....the house has now went through the foreclosure process and I see that it is set for some kind of auction at the courthouse in October.  I am assuming it is a "Sheriff Sale" but what does this mean??  Is this auction just a part of the process so that the bank will officially own the property or is this our chance to buy it for our offer price??  I can't seem to get a straight answer from the real estate agent on this question.  The owner still owed about $115K on the loan when he defaulted and abandoned the property.