It's not a lottery it's a losetery! In a lottery the first tickets sold have as much chance of winning as the last one sold.

Short sale sellers and there listing agents are being advised to submit multiple offers to the bank being shorted! This advice in itself is questionable with at least two major companies discouraging them. I'm not at this time considering the seller's position, which may included throwing as much... at the wall as possible while praying that some thing sticks.

See a great if lopsided discussion at: The real top reasons that short sales are not approved or do not close  Ken Lawson JD explains that multiple offers are legal if the buyers and the seller agreed. I agree if each of the accepted offers contains a provision allowing it! My problem is if any one buyer's contract doesn't contain such an agreement!

If a buyer didn't agree to such nonsense and the seller signed or had signed another contract they're guilty of "bad faith" this is not a crime, but they may well be subject to a tort action for damages by all, but the winning buyer. Then there is the listing agent! The listing agent is not a party to the offer & acceptance, purchase agreement, purchase offer or what ever you chose to call the agreement between the buyer and the seller. If the agent encouraged and participated in submitting multiple offers they could and should be pursued for interfering with a contract! Possibly even conspiracy to defraud, which could be the basics for both civil and criminal damages. Assuming of course that you are a looser and that you, the buyer didn't agree to let the seller accept and submit multiple offers.

The logic offered by those advocating that the buyer should agree to this is that with more offers that bank is more likely to accept one, it may be true! But, what about your offer? Your offer if it's not the highest offer will be used to justify the higher offer, but are you willing to post a deposit and tie up your life and finances for months to justify some one else's offer? If your offer comes in late and low why would the sellers accept it? They'd counter because every dollar over the existing offers would mean the bank being shorted gets more of their money back and is more likely to accept the smallest loss!

So unlike a lottery where every ticket has the same chance, the last offer submitted is likely to be the highest, if countered and the most acceptable to the bank. The other offers made in good faith are not being accepted in good faith, but rather to justify the last offer. I know of only one other similar situation where such thing occurs, buying from the FHA.

I am not an attorney, but for many years I was a true buyer's broker, contracted with and paid by my fiduciary, and many more years as a teacher and real estate author and I could never in good faith advise my clients or students to accept such a clause allowing their time and money to be so abused.

I do also teach selling and listing and if my fiduciary were on the other side, I might selectively feel different. Provided every accepted offer included the right to accept and submit more than one offer.