How do I buy a small piece of a property that is in foreclosure?

My next door neighbor just moved amid a foreclosure. The property line sits close enough that I only have enough room for a one-car driveway. To expand it enough to fit two, I'd need a couple feet from his property. How could I go about purchasing that land? Are banks willing to sell off such small amounts of land (two feet by 150 feet) and does it require city approval? Or, should I wait to deal with the new owner? It seems silly, but that small amount would really help.

I would chalk this up as "Probably not". To get that couple of feet, it will cost a few grand to have the property surveyed, recorded and deeded, and that's not including the cost to pay the bank for the land.

The reason the bank will say no is simple: Until the recordation is complete, they're stuck with the house they're trying to sell, because they need the clear deed from the courthouse, and it takes time for things to get recorded fully. Wait for the new owner, and go from there

No the banks will not sell that off. It will take an application to the city to redo the property lines and a deal with the new owners. Call you city building department or assessors office to see what would need to be done - and it won't be cheap.

City Hall is you answer, not that bank, you city would have to first of all let you know if it could be rezoned then you need to speak to the other parties.

they may negoiate with you on this but it will require a purchase slaes agreement and a new survey and still the city or county must approve it

I doubt you could actually purchase that strip of land. Maybe you could work out something with the new owners. If you lived next to me and the couple of feet didn't affect what I wanted to do with the property, I would probably work out some kind of lease with you for some token amount of money each month to cover the encroachment.

You’d have to have to pay for a land survey and both owners would have to agree to change the property lines. I can see how this helps you, but you’d have to show the other party what they’d gain to make this happen.