If the Bower has a "power of sale" clause( and most loans today include this) The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used. This simply allows the lender to exercise their right to sell a property as the borrower agreed to in the loan agreement and has defaulted on buy not making payments as agreed. The process can vary depending on the terms outlined in the "power of sale" clause, but most often it follows these steps.

• First the lender files a "notice of sale" and it is recorded in the county where the property is located. A copy is mailed to the borrower at 25 days before a sale can happen. This gets the process started. The borrower can stop the process here by remedying the default status with the lender all the way up to the time of the sale.
• Next, for the 3 weeks leading up to the sale the lender has to publish at least once per week a notice of the upcoming sale in the local newspaper. Basically this notice servers 2 purposes. First generate potential buyers by letting them know date and place of sale, with a description of the property and the default, as well as a "warning" to the borrower, informing him the property is going to be sold and what rights he has to stop the procedure.
• In New Hampshire The foreclosure sale must be held on the property to be sold and is in an auction format, the highest bidder wins.

So when you see those late night infomercial of how to buy a $500,000 dollar home for 500 bucks this is what they are talking about. What they don't tell you is the lender or bank has the right to bid also. They would be nuts to let you buy it for 500 bucks if they are owed 400,000 for it. The types of sales that can bring a $500,000 home for cheap are more commonly tax sales, and again the bank will be there.

Should you go around chasing foreclosure auctions? Well there are a few things to consider.

PRO Yes you could get a great deal and buy a property for well under the appraised value.
CON Most likely you will not have a chance to the inside and have no ideal of the condition, it may cost you more than equity in fixing it up. Do your homework, and visit the property before you attend the auction. Some investors have gotten great deals at these auctions, others have lost their shirts.
CON This is an auction, you will need a certified check to give to the auctioneer at the end of the auction.
CON You may have also bought all the other debt that the borrower has on the property. Like back property taxes, IRS leans,unpaid bills, secured credit debt, outstanding judgments. research the property at the town clerks office before you consider bidding to know if there are any other claims. Remember the borrower didn't pay their mortgage, and that means they stopped paying others also.
BIG CON Ok, you did your homework and went to the auction, and no bidding war went on, and you won. You go inside your new home and guess what, the pervious owner is still there! Now you have to go through the eviction process to get rid of them, and they are trashing the place like a dog ripping up your kids homework.

In the end, Because of all the risk, the auction will most likely the property reverts back to the bank that holds the mortgage. Attending the auction is a good idea because you will see if there was any other interest in the property. This will give you a good idea of the competition for it.