Throughout the negotiation the bank will want to know  the market price for the property, they will do what is call a “Broker Price Opinion” BPO this is usually a rookie real estate agent visit the home look around write a few stuff take a few pictures and looking at some comparable they determine the price of the home. You want to make sure they conduct an interior BPO; many lenders will state that they did a BPO where in actuality all they did was drive by the house and take picture of the outside.  It is up to you to tell them you want a full fledge BPO especially if the property need repairs.  A BPO is standard in all short sales, and if you use it correctly it can be your leverage as well. The lower the BPO the better; but it needs to be a trustworthy analysis. Ask the Loss Mitigator to have the BPO agent contact you before going to the property, it can be “fatal” if BPO Agent goes to the property without you, the worst thing that can happen if for the BPO agent to meet the homeowner without you present; homeowner tend to convey  positive or ambiguous information.

Since your offer to the bank will be under market value, in this market I will say to offer the bank from 65% to 95% of the BPO, which is why you will want to influence the BPO down. When conducting the BPO make sure you point out everything that is wrong with the property, point out every single default on the property from old roof to terrible bathroom and so on.  In a short sale deal your goal is to influence the BPO or appraisal down, so you can have a great deal. So you must do your due diligence and show the agent everything that is wrong with the property

 If you want to be safe and get the BPO number simply ask the BPO agent around what numbers are we looking at, in my experience most agents will give you a broad estimate.  If you are dealing with an agent who's not budging and will not give you any information:  Well I have a solution for you, the first thing you need to do is grab that agents business card, call his company the next day and request a BPO on the property this will cost you from $60 to $100.  Most company will send you the previous BPO if not just ask for the same exact agent to do the BPO.  Note you can also do this with appraisal as well.  This is by far the easiest way to influence the BPO to your advantage.