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You may have read this before on my blog but banks can't sell real estate.  They are getting better but they still have far to go.

During the winter months homes have to be winterized.  That means that water is drained from the pipes and the water heater and that the water is turned off. If the buyer want to have a home inspection the water needs to be turned on for the inspection.  Some of the banks are requiring the buyer to pay any expense associated with turning the water on so that the home can be inspected.

Personally I would not take the responsibility for turning on the water in a home that I did not own, especially one that has been vacant for months or years.  If I owned a home with the water turned off I would not be comfortable with the idea of someone else turning it on, or having it turned on.

The banks have created one more hurtle and one more expense in the home buying process.

I am also noticing that the banks are dropping their prices like crazy. this is a good thing but what you don't know is that even if you make a full priced offer you might not get to buy the house.  I am seeing a lot of cases where they have a low "teaser" price.  They collect offers on the property and wait for the highest offer. Buyers are so disappointed when they think they can actually buy that $80,000 home but they find out it already has three offers on it.

People who could not afford to buy a home before are out looking for bargains which is a good thing but they need to know that it is rough out there and if the price seems to good to be true it usually is. It is important not to get emotionally attached to the outcome when making an offer on a foreclosure.

I think the short sales and foreclosures should be treated just like the auction properties. Properties up for auction are listed for $1.00 on the MLS.  If the bank wants to hold out for the highest bid they should list the homes for $1.00 and let the bidding begin.  Buyers need to know that a full priced offer isn't what it takes to buy some of these homes.