You have no idea ... It's not uncommon for REOs (typically government) to languish for years. Case in point. There's a house, quite close to my residence and within less than two blocks from where I own two others (those are 2121 and 2128, to let you know how close they are together). Over three years ago, they finally got the family out .. they hadn't made a mortgage payment in close to six years. Actually, nice people .. three generations of Russians, all with the given name of Yuri. So, when you saw one of them ... Hi, Yuri! Easy to remember their names.

To make a short story even longer ... It was listed .... I looked at it and figured that I'd have to throw around $80,000 of material costs at it ... and I'd do close to all labor ... that'd take me, myself and I around one year. So, I placed an offer, accordingly. Ridiculous counter offer after counter offer ... Each month a request for "Best and Final". After close to one year ... I simply instructed my agent to pull my offer. Over two years later .... it sold to a Lithuanian "flipper group" at seven thousand dollars LOWER than my original offer. What corners they cut .. and materials used ... that's a story for another time.

But, here's the rub, I believe this was a FNMA offering .... so, those three years, property taxes were paid. Every week a landscaping/lawn care service came by, took before and after pictures ... not a minor expense. I believe the property taxes, on that house, are a little under Six thousand dollars per year.

So, three (plus) years of property tax ... round it to Eighteen Thousand. Lawn care service for over three years ... I don't know what that amount would be ... and it sold for seven large, LESS than I would have given them three years earlier, saving them Eighteen Large in property taxes and who knows how much else .... AND seven thousand more.

Gummint at its finest.