Until a house goes to sherriff's sale in Dayton it is still owned by the property owner in foreclosure, and the bank will not speak with you or negotiate with you unless you have a release from the owner allowing them to do so because of privacy laws. Many people do not understand this, but I explain this several times a day when I get calls from buyers wanting me to call the bank on abandoned properties. The owner MUST be located. There are skip trace ways to find people, and if you email me privately I can share that info with you. Before the sheriff auction the home has to be sold by the owner either through the fair market way or short sale, and the owner would have to present to sign at the closing like any other seller. The bank cannot bypass the owner until they become the legal owners of the property.
Hope that helps. I am really good at finding absentee owners so if you have a property in mind give me a call,
Maria

The County Auditors office is the place to start. Banks take control of these properties and the may go unlisted of months. There is a reason for it. I've had REOs in pre-listing for 12 months, to be informed it went to an auction. Why, who knows. I've brought a buyer to the table only to find out that the bank could not produce a clean title.

Hello,

One place to look if you have not dome so alreasdy is the county auditors website. This site will give you the current owners name and possibly when it may be going up for auction. You can also try calling the building department in that city and ask for the owners information and phone number. (a lot of times they don't have it updated but it is worth a shot.) Good luck!