Rona is here and ready for your questions

Positive> what do you mean by that?

Liz,
That is a matter of negotiation. Sometimes, the seller tries to pass those fees to the new owner. Disclose everything you know about the fees and negotiate as best you can.

Joy, Yes and no. I am seeing silly over-priced listings, I am seeing houses badly set up for showings, I am seeing under-priced houses set up for bidding wars. Marketing is all over the place.
In some "hot" spots, where inventory is low, there are some slightly rising prices. I hope this stops soon.
There is lots of activity around greater Boston. Much less for my agent in metro-west.

If you are buying REO, or any bank-involved property, there are some added complexities:
The bank has not heart. Your negotiation will be more cold.
Your wait time between questions is longer.
The lender can change it's mind. (sort of mind)
The whole process takes longer.

Zillow or any of the other on-line computerized valuations systems are pretty inaccurate. I have heard as much as 10% off in either direction. The problem is that you need to see the properties, especially around here, to know the value. Condition can change the picture by $10s of thousands and so can location.