An ingenious idea? Depends if you're on the bus ...

No doubt you've heard about the alarming rise in home foreclosures with the burst of the real estate bubble.

I received an email from my bank this morning that I thought was ingenious and disturbing at the same time. They are now offering "foreclosure bus tours" that are just what they sound like ... you sign up, get on a bus, and review homes that have been foreclosed on. Here's the text of the email:

"Join us and view up to 10 of the best-valued foreclosure properties in town! Our Foreclosure Bus will shuttle you to foreclosed value deal properties that we have pre-selected and pre-screened. Each tour starts at 9 a.m. and lasts approximately 3 hours."

I just wonder what the atmosphere is like on that bus. While some first time buyers must be excited because they may find a deal, the whole bus tour must be a bit surreal, no?

Granted, this is an interesting idea because no doubt the bank wants to get rid of these properties as soon as possible so the deals must be amazing.

Still, the whole idea is kind of creepy and sad and at the same time. I mean, if there are that many foreclosed houses out there that you can literally tour them on a bus, that just can't be a good sign for the economy, can it?

Unless, of course, you're in the market for a house.