Open Question: My rental is being foreclosed?

I live in Madison, WI and have been living in a rented duplex for the last 15 months (my friends rent the other side). Yesterday we received a notice that the house is being foreclosed on in 3 months. We want to stay here and are considering among ourselves somehow purchasing the house, and wondering the best way to go about this. Should we talk directly to the bank that has the mortgage with the current owners? Or someone else? We don't want to buy directly from the owners, because we would probably pay considerably less if we purchased from the bank after foreclosure. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! more…