Are you a cash buyer with funds to close or are you just trying to be a wholesaler with not even a penny to your name??

I have worked a commission job for several years and and have never earned a penny for "trying to make a sale".

@Jake Weber  Yes, it will cost you a pretty penny however in upfront discount fees. 

Thank you @Penny Clark!

thank you to all for the comments. some of the answers i already knew. dealing with banks can be he rabbit hole described, yes, but it certainly sounds like the lawyers are the cause of the problem. here  in western new york, one of our lovely politicians has decided that he will start putting signs in the front yards of the " zombie" houses with the name of the bank on the sign just to embarrass them into doing something about it. a lot of good that will do. all he has done is increase the calls to the banks. it his his profession that has caused the problem with all of the red tape the banks must go thru just to foreclose on a dead beat that doesn't want to pay for the house he mortgaged. what really needs to be done by the politicians is to make things easier for the banks to take back what rightfully belongs to them instead of having to go thru hell to cater to someone who doesn't have the responsibility of a grapefruit. i just really hate to see these houses sit for years and years empty and fall a apart. by the time we investors actually get a chance to buy them and rehab them, the amount that the bank is able to get out of the poor rundown place is pennies on the dollar. thanks again to all the answers

Investors like myself come in and buy them for pennies on the dollar.

@Jonathan CronkiteJust broom clean, and go heavy with the roller, one coat and your done!

It is definitely worth every penny.

Bye-the-way, I've seen some high-end properties in high-end neighborhoods and several have been 'move-in-ready' but still needed a coat of paint in one or two rooms and/or new carpet or fresh shampoo, clean-up in the yard - maybe a new microwave, etc. 

. $1,500 for initial repairs is barely a fresh coat of paint for the house.