Urbanrealtor,
The agent has both sides. I know this because it is my business to know these things in this area. It is very easy for an agent to underprice and bring a low offer to the bank of his/her own. Even if the bank turns it down, they stand a good chance of getting a rock bottom price to give to their buyer.
SD R,
The agents fiduciary responsibility is to the seller not the lender. It is often in sellers best interest to get the property sold as quickly as possible for whatever the bank will accept while agreeing to release them from deficiency judgements in the future. Countering a bunch a short sale offers creates harsh feelings among those that brought the offers and adds undue complications to the process. The best strategy IMO is to bring a well qualified offer at a market justiable price to the lender in order to obtain the approval. Once you have the approval, you can sort out who is still around, who still wants the house and who is offering the best price/terms. From that point a new approval is very easy if it is at or above the approved price. Short sales are a very different animal to manage as a listing agent.
