I've often found with standard sale agents, they do all they can to sell the property for the highest price.  Unfortunately, the goal of the short sale is to bring the most offers at the most realistic market value and do it quickly.

Here is some food for thought.  Sell it like it is.  If the property is in poor condition, target the investors.  Put the bad photos in, make sure the comments indicate how much work is needed and whether there are any location issues or other sale issues with the property in the private/agent remarks that do not forward out to the public.  You can either do this at the time of listing the property or you can do this after you've accepted an offer, before you move the status from active to back up or pending.  If it's average, make it known.  If it's highly remodeled but difficult to support value based on lack of comps for condition, state this! 

Why do this?  When the bank orders a valuation, BPO agents and appraisers may judge you on your MLS.  They will ask themselves, does this agent know what they're doing?  Make sure you target those who may judge you.  Tell them why the property is selling at the price it is selling for.  Explain it through the photos, property description and agent remarks.  Add any photo addendums or repair bids to the MLS if your MLS allows you to add documents.  This will give further supporting documentation to your onlookers.  You want them to pull comparables similar to your property.  If you don't tell them the whole story through your MLS, they may pull the wrong comps and assume you don't know how to price your own property.  This will help with those ugly Fannie/Freddie properties as well.

Also, target a good buyers agent.  In your agent remarks share the status of your short sale.  Indicate number of liens, names of banks (if easy to work with), whether loss is big or small, if ss pkg has been submitted or is ready to be with receipt of an offer.  A good buyer's agent will jump all over the chance to work with you, keeping the buyer properly informed and holding the transaction together. 

Quality control your offering agents as well.  Look at the agents inventory over the last 12 months.  Make sure you are working with an agent who works full time, has a minimum of 5 closed short sales in the last 12 months or closes on average 1-2 deals a month.  Agents with 1 or 2 closings over the last 12 months likely don't have much going on, will call you incessantly and project their frustrations onto their buyers, putting your transaction at risk.  Then relay to your sellers how you did your homework and why you feel the top offers are worth accepting, even if the offers are not at the top. 

I have a short sale brochure helpful in answer questions during the short sale listing appointment if anyone is interested, email me [email protected].  I searched all over for a good brochure and couldn't find one, so I finally created one of my own.