How do I make my short sale offer attractive?

[Josh Palmer]

Hey guys,

First time dealing with a short sale. In fact, it’s my first time buying a home. I wanted to ask, how do I make an offer on a short sale more attractive than other offers? I’ve been in contact with the seller, (I know her through a friend that used to rent from her) and our real estate agents have been communicating. The property was just listed today and the agent says she will keep it on the market for 14 days and then review offers. I’ve read that the seller chooses the offer to submit to the lender and they accept it or deny it, but the seller shouldn’t really care how much the offer is for, right? As long as the bank accepts it, that’s all she should care about at this point? Or because she’s handed it off to a real estate agent, is she just going to take the highest offer for her commissions? Just curious if there would be any benefit to keeping in contact with the seller to try to encourage her to accept the offer of a young family that will take great care of her home, or will the highest bidder ultimately get the property in this situation?

I’d appreciate any feedback you can offer.

Thanks!