Someone suggested calling up the water company and getting a list of properties with water shut off then finding the owners and making an offer. 

Good luck and don't violate any laws or you will be shut down pretty quickly.

Then I shut up and listen.

Hello,I am a small business owner who is in the process of shutting down one business and building a new one. 

Junior behind you who was in second position gets shut out and had to get the tuna fish sandwich (i.e. the short stick)Hope that makes sense

@Chris Mason the property is a foreclosure and the lender has stated they can do conventional financing even with the water shut off for inspection.

Hi Lawrence,Many banks shut down lines of credit and also for a refi cash out the banks have moved LTV's much higher according to conservative appraisals.So before you put an offer or earnest money down on something make sure you know the exact amount you can pull from the other property.

., allowing people to "age in place" and considering stopping water shut offs as "inhumane" (not that she could do it, because there are bonds issued against water receipts, but the mere fact that she is considering it speaks volumes as to her financial literacy, her willingness to cater to the interest du jour, etc.)), and "multi-unit" covers a multitude of sins - duplex, three-flat, six-flat, etc..

Like. with this house I had an $10k over offer within hours of putting it on the market, people dying to see it in 5 inches of snow (which in MD everyone shuts down when it snows), had a backup offer up within 1-2 days and people calling almost every day to get their offer in/go see the house/or ask about future projects.  

The only other type of thread that gets shut down (but that Josh did not mention) is a fresh but duplicated "guru" review thread - but in that case the thread is re-directed to the existing discussion so that any particular guru does not have the review broken up into too many different threads (a good thing to consolidate these IMO).