But the Bank Told Me . . .

The bank negotiators job is to make certain the short sale offer fits their general guidelines for acceptance AND to get as much money as possible for the bank. Just as you are setting expectations for your seller and the buyer agent in your transaction the Bank Negotiator has some tactics as well.

Whether it is at the start of one of your submissions or during it you might hear a negotiator tell you something like 'and remember we won't accept short sales with over X% commission'. They might make a statement about the seller needing to pay 'X-dollars' for the short sale to be reviewed. Don't waiver from your path, send the offer over as you have it without the seller bringing money and without reducing your commission to match their "requirement". If they contact you after stating you need to make changes to the offer to match those requirements I strongly suggest that you do what you can do to get it reviewed as is. Use your negotiating skills and if needed escalate the offer to someone else.

If your offer is strong enough and close to Fair Market Value (FMV) then there is no solid rationale for the bank not approving your offer. The issue here is YOU believing and understanding this.

I guess what I want you to take from this post is that you work for your seller and not the bank. So don't make the mistake of letting the bank 'tell' you anything that could mean money out of your client's pocket.