Dealing with the Middle Man/Woman

[Christopher Morin]

It seems as though some potential leads screen their calls concerning buyers, which is understandable given the volume of calls, and I want to know the best way to pierce this so that I'm talking with a seller and able to negotiate without losing anything in translation. 

Right now I'm referring to a specific example where there is what appears to be an un-motivated friend who has been entrusted to sell a divorce-vacated home by some out of state owners. Our 30 second phone conversation when I called about the property was limited to her casually passing me a lock box code (without even asking my name). It is a FSBO flip in need of serious repair, and their list price is way above it's value. However, the "friend" says she won't even consider passing along offers that aren't close.

I'm confident I could talk hard numbers with a seller and show them contractor bids and comparable sales that might maybe make them realize they are way off base, but I'm not confident that this unmotivated "friend" would do a good job of articulating this, or even gain me an audience...  Ideas?