Short Sale in Seattle

[Nghi Le]

Hi everyone!

I'm still a newbie investor, but my fiancée and I found this nice home in Seattle (or actually, Renton) that's that we could live in for a little while and then sell in a few years.  It is, however, a short sale.

Right now it's listed at $285,000.  We did some estimates and comps and think the current value is around $350k (but can jump $100k within 2 years).

My agent told me that it's a short sale that came back on the market in August of 2012 around $260k.  It got an offer the following month but the short sale lender turned it down (along with three other offers) and put a sales price of $325k on it.  In the past year, the listing agent keeps lowering the price to to get buyers (from $315k to current price of $285k), but the lender will not approve an offer below $325k.  

My agent recommends that I offer $325, but we honestly don't want to pay any more than $300k.  My fiancée and I won't be married until next year and thus don't need a home until then, so we can afford to wait and be patient with this deal.

Any recommendations/strategies/insights on this?