Empathize with Bill and the seller's position and suggest that if you can't get back the funds you at least want to help the seller's case in court, work out some sort of deal, talk about a master lease option, basically anything that does not involve the idea of litigation. 

I'm guessing you mean a home  somewhere in the foreclosure process (As is the case in your scenario) that's listed on the market? 

Regard communication in this instance as the preparation for making your case in front of a judge.

That is the case in all of the examples described.

Case-in-point: I just sold a property here in Baltimore, Md that sat on the market for 2 weeks with lots of views but no offers. 

The devil is in the details, or in this case in the local implementation. 

That is not necessarily the case in this instance but something to think about, also be aware of "service animals" as in most jurisdictions regardless of your no pet policy you must accept them.

There are times when I think it's okay to be minimal or negative on the cash flow, but this case in particular doesn't necessarily sound like one of them.

Case in point, there is also a short term rental taxation proposal being hammered out in the Massachusetts State house.

I can't imagine the neighbors have been paying property taxes on this entire lot or that the county would accept taxes for just a sliver.I'll admit I'm probably overly paranoid about this topic, stemming from the case in Boulder a few years ago where someone successfully took a slice of their neighbors property with adverse possession.