How can I buy a place at Pre-foreclosure price?

When you say 'four digit figures', I assume you mean less than $10,000. These are not the actual prices of the homes, but rather are the amounts which the current owner is delinquent.

In a nutshell, you're not going to buy a $150,000 property for $10,000.

It is realistic to think you can get a deal with a pre-foreclosure. That is why there is so much allure surrounding the industry. Really, all the bank and the owners will want is the amount owed, plus a little room to breathe.

in pre-foreclosure the bank can not sell the house because they do not and may not ever own the property.

Of course after a foreclosure a bank always is required by law to sell the property for as high a price as the market will bear. The bank's stockholders would sue if they did not do this.

That would take a short sale and those are very hard to pull off once a NOtice of Default is issued. Once a NOD is issued, the borrower has a set period of time to bring the loan current. If they don't, it will be foreclosed.

What you're suggesting is a lot more work than it seems like it would be. A good resource to learn more about the topic is http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/