I thought I'd be their foreclosure angel coming down to save them from this tragedy.Instead I am met with resistance, rudeness and a bunch of other things.So........

If they resist I tell them in a nice way that their inability to satisfy my concern does not make me happy and I seriously want to resolve the issue rather than having to go further with a small claims action.

Some were very resistant to change but eventually made the change.How do you handle the water/sewer? 

The recession-resistant aspect of this niche is something I've grown to be increasingly thankful for.

@Sadie Bynum I know this sucks; however since the Sellers aren't willing to lower the price you might want to take the path of least resistance, which is to close. 

The listing brokerages job is to move inventory for a seller whether that is a good, bad, or marginal property to purchase.They tend to tell buyers whatever they can (accentuate the positive, don't mention the negatives) to give the least path of resistance and asking questions to a sale for their seller.

Pick resistant.

@Frank Pilipauskas - in the future, please resist the temptation to turn a unit around that quickly.

If you can get cash flow on a multi-unit property or a single family while renting rooms out, that would be the path of least resistance. 

The most recent models have resistive electric heating elements for those cold snaps, but in eastern MA, we really don't see those very often.