High BPO/Verbal Counter

[JM Ray]

I'm new to BP and new to real estate investing, so please excuse any obvious stupidity. And thank you for any information you can provide.

I offered above list price on a short sale condo, the owner signed the purchase agreement and everything went to the bank for approval. 2 months later, my real estate agent told me the BPO has come back 30% over my asking price and 30% over any of the past 12 sales (from 2009 to April 2013) in the 18-unit condo complex. The bank verbally countered, with my agent telling me that it was a Fannie Mae loan and they will not counter in writing even though the short sale addendum requires it.

Is this normal for the BPO to be so high? Does Fannie Mae really not counter in writing?