Need help with foreclosure question and personal property - ASAP

[mrehumhd]

My home was foreclosed on July 1, with the 1st mortgage company having the high bid. However, before the 10 days elapsed, an upset bid was received on July 8th from an individual. I received a letter from the trustees saying they were holding open the bidding process for another 10 days (July 18th) My realtor and I were trying to work out a short sale arrangement (long story here) with the 1st mortgage company who is the one who did the foreclosure. My question pertains to personal property items still in the house - the buyers had written into their contract - such as refrigerator, living room suite, etc. Some friends went to my house today to try to retrieve the personal property items, and they have all been removed from the premises, with No Trespassing Signs on all the doors. I am living/working in another state now - but they gave me little to no time to get the items out of the house once the short sale fell through - was/is this legal for them to do this if the bidding period is still open?