SS - Does prop have to be listed?

Contacted Loss Mitigation Dept. requesting Short Sale Package & rep asked if the property was listed with a Realtor. This is a pre-forclosure situation with little/no equity, repairs needed, and would be difficult to market for a profit on a regular sale and thus perfect for Short Sale. Buyer has not listed with agent as of yet.

My question is will the Loss Mit. dept. negotiate a short sale without a RE Agent listing and if so, is it best to not involve one?

Can’t I just write up a sales agreement and submit that with a settlement sheet stating that no commissions will have to be paid? That way the bank (seller) would not have to pay any commissions off the negotiated price?

I’m working on a similar short sale right now, and the banks are perfectly happy working directly with me. This is, of course, after getting the “authorization to release loan information” signed by the owner. It seems to me that they would rather not have to pay a realtor…