Absolutely and buyers can submit higher offers. I have done many short sales and in most cases I look at the first offer as the chance to get 80 yards down the field. That buyer is rarely there at the finish line and if they are it is up to the lender to decide the price not me. They have every right to accept, reject or counter as any seller does. With that said I dont slip my own lowball buyers in because I dont think that is in my clients (the sellers) best interest. In the same vein, I dont think it is necessarily in my clients best interest to bring the highest offer to the lender first also. Once the lender see’s that they will get stuck on it and it may not be possible to get that offer again. In these cases it becomes tough to get the lender to accept a lower but current market value offer so not only has my client been damaged but the lender has been also. It is definitely a delicate balancing act.