Bank REO Short Sale

As a nu bee, I am wondering if it is possible to wait until after the bank has taken possession and then approach them for a short sale. I see that many of them sell fairly quickly, but some of the “dogs” can be on their list for quite a while. In fact, I found one, it was an apartment complex that is assessed at $7,100,000, is 85% full and the bank has been operating it, with one person in the office! for a year. Won’t they be itching to get rid of it pretty soon? I also found some SFR’s that have been on for 7 months to a year. So, is it a viable approach, to just go to the lenders? I know the govt (HUD, FHA) have very strict rules on their REO’s, but of course, the govt NEVER has to live by the same rules as the rest of us. lol