Homes to be sold in auction in three weeks

They are foreclosures in the paper and are to be sold in three weeks. Is it too late or is this still good pre-foreclosure time?

First of all if they are in foreclosure then they are not “preforeclosures”. They are to be sold (at foreclosure auction I assume) in 3 weeks - Is it too late for what? What are you trying to do? 3 weeks is plenty of time to negotiate a deal with the homeowner, take title and bring the loan current. It probably is not enough time to do a short sale unless the lender will postpone. Also not enough time to list, market and close.