Share your best and final offer story

[Misstic]

I think I’ll be in this situation eventually. Any tips on how to ensure you best and final offer is a win? I know it should be your “best and final” but presumably you take into account the other people putting in best and final offers?

[LividLaughLovely]

We just lost a best and final offers even though we won. We offered £1K more than the winning bidders, but they had moved out into rented and we had buyers below us. I’m still sad about it.


My tips are: go for an odd number, write the vendor a letter that talks about how much you loved the house. I laid it on really thick and even used a picture of my baby and talked about how he would love growing up there. If it wasn’t for the no chain situation the estate agent says it would’ve been ours and it was a toss up.

[LividLaughLovely]

I found a template online about the kind of facts to include, including details of your deposit and the chain below you.

[JoJoSM2]

We’ve been in that position a few times. We were successful a couple of times but mostly due to being chain free rather than offering silly money.

We’ve also been outbid a few times. On those occasions, we did offer the absolute max we were willing to pay but others were willing to pay a lot more. When I checked sold prices later, I felt genuinely baffled by the prices paid. No hard feelings as great houses do come up every so often if you’re willing to wait.

[Misstic]

Thanks. This week and next week is likely to be nerve wracking for us. We will be putting an offer on a house we think may have other offers coming through. I suspect it may go to best and final offer. I pray that we are successful and can draw a line under this long arduous search. It is a sought after location.

[Africa2go]

We've done it twice, and "won" both times. I agree with a pp, its often not the figure that you offer but the position you're in (we were chain free both times). We wrote a letter each time setting out that we were chain free, my H was a solicitor so could push through the conveyancing to make sure there were no delays, we were a family looking to make it a long term house (and so wouldn't mess them around) and because we were renting/chain free, we were happy to work to whatever timescales they wanted. I know for a fact that both times we weren't the highest bidder but our position worked in our favour.

[WinterAndRoughWeather]

We did it and also laid it on thick with a letter. Ours wasn’t the highest bid but we were first time buyers so in a stronger position. The estate agent said that and the letter swung it for us. We really, really wanted that house.

[Lampan]

You need to think about what YOUR best and final offer is and try not to work out what others may be offering as their best and final. For example, if the house is on for 290k, try not to think along the lines of ‘well people looking in this price range would probably be looking at houses up to 300k and therefore might go to 305k as a best and final, so we will offer 306k’ etc
What matters is how much you would be prepared to pay, or what price you would not be prepared to go over. If you love the house, in the long run would it matter if you paid 5k above the next best offer?
My house went to best and final and I think partly that was cos of my position (chain-free and flexible with completion date) and maybe slightly cos I was acquainted with the vendor, not a friend or anything but we had crossed paths before. Obviously this was just a happy coincidence.
I’m not sure how much effect a letter to the vendor would have, I suppose it depends entirely on the vendor. I think any implication in a letter that you deserve a house more than anyone else might risk putting someone’s back up. Not to say you would do any of this, but friends with a house to sell found letters about how great the house would be for school catchments for other people’s kids etc completely irrelevant.

[GrumpyHoonMain]

@Misstic

I think I’ll be in this situation eventually. Any tips on how to ensure you best and final offer is a win? I know it should be your “best and final” but presumably you take into account the other people putting in best and final offers?

I would offer asking (or near asking) price with a mortgage approval already in the bag and solicitors already instructed and make it clear that you will be moving quickly. I

[Saz12]

Forget trying to be the highest offerer..... one house we offered on at a closing date sold for £410k, the next highest offer was £355k. This was in 2007, and I doubt the house would sell for more than £350k now! People get insanely carried away (though I doubt a bank would lend so generously any more!).

Try and work out what the house is worth to you, compared to what “the perfect” one would be worth if it existed.

[Saz12]

... and be flexible (ready to move quickly but able to delay if vendors have to), have everything in place, put offer in via solicitor.

IMO the supporting letters can go either way, you don’t want the vendors to feel your emotionally blackmailing them.