Need advice buying a short sale

[Ed B.]

I have a chance to buy a house that's for sale via short sale. Similar houses are going for about 175K and increasing. The bank just got a "quick and dirty" BPO on it for $150K. For those who have bought short sales, how much less, if any, have you been able to buy below the BPO value? One person I talked to says the bank will only accept a short sale offer if it nets them more or roughly the same as if they were to foreclose and sell it as an REO. I already offered 110k, which was rejected. The realtor thinks the bank won't accept much less than the BPO price, but to me, that does not take into account the holding costs and other expenses the bank might incur if they foreclose. Considering that, I think paying very close to the BPO would be paying too much. There are no other offers pending. Would appreciate any advice on how best to proceed. I might mention I also don't want to risk that the bank orders another BPO or appraisal, which could value it higher, and worsen my bargaining position