Need some advice / suggestions - once again!  We are the buyer on a SS - 180 days in as of today and still waiting for approval.  We went ahead with our lender appraisal in an effort to save time and it came back at $30k under our offer price which would require us to bring $27k more than we anticipated to the table.  The 2nd bank involved is currently doing their own appraisal and we asked our Realtor to confirm if that is completed and if they can find out if that # came in lower as well. 

I would've never guessed that this home would've appraised that much lower than our offer which was $29k less than the "list price" which I know is basically irrelevant.  Given that we don't have an extra $27k laying around we are trying to determine our options.  I will preface this by saying I don't get a warm fuzzy from our agent that they will suggest amending the purchase price.....when we asked about confirming the other appraisal and that we needed to discuss options, he mentioned that the listing agent has received a back-up offer - almost in the context of "well if you want to walk, no big deal as there is another offer".  I guess we don't feel entirely comfortable that they can convince the bank that the price is too high.....any other buyers are going to face this same issue.

So, do we have a chance at arguing the price back to the seller's bank (and attaching our appraisal) - even though we are still waiting for the intial approval?  How common is this on a short sale, and do the banks ever agree to take a lower amount?  I know it would take even more time, but it's a big margin to try and make up.  If it were only $5k we would probably just do it but we're talking some bigger dollars here.  I can't imagine the seller's would be willing / able to make up some of the difference either (short sale reason was due to divorce and we know the owner has moved out). Any other creative options?

Our appraisal was the last thing that I thought would give us a hiccup on this deal.  Appreciate your feedback.