FLU I think learning as much as you can about the home you are going to buy is perfectly justified so no need to explain why you are looking for the information from the lender. I always like to find what the recorded notes are for any home I am investigating.
Anyways if the home is indeed for sale then you can call the listing agent and shoot in an offer at whatever you want him to write it up for. All he can say is either yes, no, or we already have offers above yours. It cannot hurt to try yeah?
The question about the NOT is that NOTs are recorded just like a NOD. Once the foreclosure process gets to the point where a trustee sale notification needs to be made, a NOT will be filed and published. At that point you will know the scheduled trustee sale date. Note however trustee sales can indeed be delayed and no recordings are needed.
