What does it really cost a bank to foreclose?

[Dianne Pettitt]

Our local REIA organizer says not to bother with short sales because the bank gets paid for the first three missed payments (due to insurance) and after that they get paid all the rest of what is owed them. So they have no desire to sell the house at any discount. It seems that banks buy a house and then sit on it for months. Am I wasting my time?