Question about all cash short sale

[Lyle M Smith]

Hey BP - Newbie trying to execute my first deal here. I found a SFR outside of Philadelphia that is being sold as a short sale. The property is in rough shape but is listed at ~40% of its ARV. I lined up a hard money lender and ran my numbers and it looks like a promising deal.

Supposedly there was a ton of interest in the property so the listing agent informed my realtor that they would only be accepting cash offers. My hard money lender assured me that my loan would be as good as cash and he supplied me with a proof of funds to share with the listing agent. My main concern is now that I’m basically waiving any appraisal contingency but the hard money lender is still going to need to do an appraisal. I see the risk in this so I am trying to plan some exits before we submit the offer tomorrow.

In the event my offer is accepted and then the hard money lender either can’t get in for an appraisal or the appraisal comes in way lower I’ll be stuck in a cash offer where I dont exactly have all the funds. I’m assuming Im going to put a deposit down and I’ll lose it if I can’t come up with the cash when it’s due. I was thinking I could probably scratch the cash together from family but I also was wondering if I could essentially just wholesale the deal to get out clean.

Most importantly I want to know; Can I assign the contract to another buyer on an all cash short sale? Any and all other advice is welcome on the situation too. Thanks!