I agree with Cheryl as well. Buying a home at auction carries many risks.

Whatever you do, I DO NOT recommend buying it on the courthouse steps at the Trustee's Sale. You would be acquiring the property "as is" with all the baggage (ecumbrances, liens, possible title issues) and likely without the benefit of thorough inspections.

Definately be proactive. Although you probably cannot purhcase the home until it goes to auction, there are a few things that you can do. First, your Realtor may be able to obtain information from the previous Listing Agent, provided that it was listed for sale. Second, make sure that your Realtor works in an office that carries many bank owned listings. Because the Bank owned homes are generally listed with specific agents, in specific offices, you will have a better chance of getting information on the home if there is a high percentage of REO listings in their office. Lastly, be prepared to write the offer immediately, and have your financing ready, when it does go on the market. Granite Bay, specifically, has a lower percentage of Bank Owned homes, and they generally sell quickly. Make sure that your Agent has sold many Bank Owned homes and knows how to navigate the system.
There are many options depending on what the previous status of the home was, and if the sellers tried to short sell it. Postponing the trustee sale is only a good option if a short sale was started with the preious owners.

YES! It could be sometimes months before the bank will put it on the markets. Have you spoken to the agent or owner yet? How deep are they? You might be able to make something happen, sometimes the bank may postpone the trustee sale date or you maybe able to buy it at the court house steps on auction day.

However, the time to act is now.