This is very similar to our situation. We purchased a distressed property back in the fall.
The house had been in the MLS and was overpriced. The house was then pulled from the market and the owners received their NOD a month or two later. We then made an unsolicited, low ball offer directly to the owners.
To make a very long story short, we closed seven months later for less than our original offer.
My advice is for you and your agent to be extremely aggressive with the owners and noteholders.
