I am a realtor at Keller Williams in Northwest Indiana and what you have described sounds like a Sheriff Auction which the bank arranges after the house has been on the market as a short sale. If no one buys the house at the auction, the bank gets it back, puts it through the foreclosure process cleaning up the title of liens and judgments, and then after 1-2 years, that property, which has been sitting vacant through summer heat and winter cold, is put back on the market as an REO...Real Estate Owned property. Please feel free to contact me personally and I can help you find a realtor in your state and answer any other questions you have...219 241-8220.