As a REO agent (real estate owned aka bank owned foreclosures) I see this scenario happen over and over. A buyer wants to put an offer in on a bank owned foreclosure. They find out there is currently an accepted offer and decide to wait and see what happens.
Here's the problem with that scenario, if the current accepted offer falls through (which happens often), the listing agent will typically contact the current back up offers and see if their offers still stand. Most of the time they do, so the listing agent resubmits those offers and they begin the negotiations. By the time the property is changed in the MLS (multiple listing service) to active again, your agents see's that it's active, contacts you and you decide to make an offer, its too late!
90% of the time, one of the back up offers will be negotiated on and accepted before you even find out the first deal fell through. You miss out again.
To make matters worse, most buyers still don't learn their lesson and again decide not to put a back up offer in. So to pour a little more salt on the wound, the next deal falls through and again the buyer misses out!
Here are a few tips to help you succeed when trying to purchase bank owned foreclosures:
Be prepared - if you need a mortgage, get your pre-approval first and have it ready to submit along with your written offer. If paying cash, have proof of funds available (this can be a copy of your bank statement - don't forget to black out the account #, or a letter from your bank representative stating you have suffiencient funds to purchase a house for $XYZ amount)
Make your offer! Just becuase there is an accepted offer doesn't mean you shouldn't still write up an offer (also known as a back up offer). If your agent is telling you its a waste of time... GET A NEW AGENT! They are supposed to be representing you, if you want the property, make the offer. Trust me you'll be happy you did.
Have all your ducks in a row - Make sure you have chosen and spoken to your real estate attorney ahead of time. Let them know you are making offers on bank owned properties. When your offer is accepted, there are strict deadlines that must be met or the bank will move on to the next offer. Be prepared to move quickly (typically, the contracts must be signed and returned within 5 calendar days). This means your attorney will need to meet with you to go over the contracts as soon as possibly. Don't wait until you have an accepted offer to start calling and interviewing attorneys.
So the moral of this story, PULL THE TRIGGER. Don't wait to see wait happens just because there's already an accepted offer. Put in a back up offer and stay in contact with the listing agent.