Our offer is higher

[Drew Dickinson]

Hello All,
I'm trying to get some advice here. A client of mine recently put in an offer on a Bank of America property that was listed as "Active-with other contingency." Basically, in my area, that means it's a short sale where the seller has signed the agreement, but the bank has NOT yet signed. I know from speaking to the listing agent that our offer is higher than the one the seller signed. The listing agent told me that she passed our offer along to her sellers as well at the attorney her sellers hired prior to starting the short sale process. My questions:

- Does this agent legally have to present this offer to Bank of America even if her seller does not sign off on it?
- How can I do the best for my client (and myself) by making sure his offer gets seen.

We were thinking of trying to sub the offer directly to the bank, but in doing a little research, it seems pretty hard to get a direct contact in BofA's short sale office. I would think there would be some risk of fraud for the sellers and their agent if they are representing that the lower offer they subbed to the bank is the best one. This can't be too un-common an experience. I would greatly appreciate any imput you all could offer. Thanks.