Best and final offers

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Does anyone know in this market how much above the asking price best and final offers are going up to?the perfect house has come along(perfect for everyone by all the interest shown in the property)
I know it comes down to what you think it is worth and what you're willing to pay for it,but I really want to give it a good shot.its on for 495000.THe houses we have been looking at have been in a higher bracket range so have a health budget to spend.this will be a 10year +house and know it will make money in the long term as fantastic location.it will need loads of work doing to it which is fine as we are in rented at the moment.
Any advice or previous experience appreciated.

499,999.99

Why would they be above the asking price? Or are you saying that the vendor has received multiple asking price offers?

PS. The lower stamp threadshold is up to and including 500k so you don't need to drop the penny

I just thought best and final offers would always go over the asking price.is this not the case?.i don't think they've had any offers yet but is best and final offers the same as sealed bids?there is soon much interest on this house I can't imagine it will go for less than the price it's on for.
Have I got it all wrong?

I bet he will receive several offers of exactly that (499,999.99) - and how would he decide then? Is it possible to cheat the system by offering this amount but on top of it offerring to buy something from them (furniture etc) at a good price but as a little 'bribe'? or even pay towards their moving costs? you have to be creative!

you just never know what other offers will be - if there is a lot of interest there is a GOOD CHANCE that some will be over the asking, can you take that risk?

We sold our house recently. We had 2 close to asking price offers so the estate agent suggested best and final. We sold it for £1000.99p over the asking price( asking price was below £250,000). Interestingly despite this market we broke the previous ceiling price but we had the cheapest type of house in a nice village and ours needed nothing doing.

I've lost out on best offers on a good flat in the past, it's gutting, as you don't want to offer well above others but you don't want to lose, PITA! I couldn't go any higher though, while someone could.
Some people also attach heart-rending emails to their offers (my agent actually advised to do it) saying how you love the house, how perfect for the kids, how you wree looking for ages, and that you'll be a no-hassle buyer etc. If you can, and you want to secure it, I'd take my advice above ^ .

I assume what you mean is that it has been newly listed as 'best and final offers by x date', in which case yes, that is the same as an informal tender.

We have bid on two informal tenders in the past and both times the house didn't sell, i.e. all bids were lower than the lowest they were willing to accept (miles below the guide price).

Another one came up recently which we'd have liked but knew would go for far more than the guide price (which would already have stretched us) so we didn't bother submitting an offer.

You know your house and the area. How much similar stuff has sold for in the past etc and how much you want it.

Careful of the 'lot of interest'. Lots of people go and nosy round an unusual/wreck of a house without having any intention of buying. Estate Agents of course lie about interest levels to encourage higher prices.

At the end of the day you know what it is worth for you, and that is what you should offer.

'if you can afford it', I meant.

Be slightly wary of EA claims about a lot of interest in a house. If there were other offers, they'd have to you about them. Gibbering on about how much interest there is, need for best offers etc, is often a bit of an exaggeration.

We offered on a house, had it rejected, so gave them a 'best and final' offer of £240k. That was rejected too, and the EA went on about all the other interest and viewings and some nonsense about offering a bit more to secure it before it went to sealed bids and went for over the asking price. It was all nonsense. We bought something else (in a much better location, for less money than we'd offered on the other house). 4 months after we offered on that house, another identical house came on the market in the same street for £250k (that one had been on at £265k) and within days they'd dropped their asking price to offers over £249,950. They still haven't sold though, because the houses are really only worth £240k at most, and less if they need any work.

I bought my house in 2002 so it was much more of a sellers' market then. There were 3 asking price offers made on my house so the estate agents went to best and final offers. I upped my offer by £2,500 over the original asking price offer. Apparently mine wasn't the highest offer made but the vendor went with me because I wasn't in a chain and had made it clear I could be as flexible as the vendor needed me to be in terms of timing (first time buyer living with mum and dad at the time!). I think my vendor had lost a previous buyer because it had taken her too long to find somewhere and her buyer got fed up. I was happy waiting for as long as it took because it meant I had longer to save more money while sponging off the parents paying minimal rent.

So basically, offers are not necessarily just about the price. See what else you can say or offer to make you the most attractive buyer.

Being able to contract and complete in a short time is also a plus point that might attract a seller to accept your offer rather than one from someone who needs to sell their house.

Mind you, it never seems to work for us. We have no chain and can complete immediately but sellers seem to still prefer to take higher 'pie in the sky' offers that never actually come to fruition and hence sit on the market for years.

I assume the vendors have received a number of offers already and are inviting "best and final" offers (which is usually the same thing as sealed bids) so that they know there is no more interest to be taken into account and they can decide which one they want to accept.

Ultimately, it really doesn't matter what someone else is willing to offer for the house - you need to ignore the fact that others might be making offers and offer the most you would be happy to pay. What that will be depends on your area, what other houses are going for, how long you intend to live in the house etc. The vendors will, if sensible, be looking at both your headline figure and your ability to proceed - they might accept less than the highest offer from a cash buyer, or someone with no chain.

For what it's worth, properties in my area went through a spate of going to sealed bids a few years ago when I was looking to buy. Out of the two we offered on, one we offered £1 over the asking price - it sold for £68k over the asking price. One we offered the exact asking price - it sold for about £5k less than the asking price, but to people who had nothing to sell (our house had just gone on the market). So, every property will attract different levels of interest.

As someone else mentions upthread, £500k is a barrier for a lot of people due to stamp duty. If you love the property and are willing to offer over £500k, that might put you at an advantage.

OP the days of "houses making money" are past. I wouldn't count on any appreciation in value in the next 10 years.

MissP - unless it's in London!
MoreBeta, came across the same, had nothing to sell but vendors went for the highest offer. First time round it all fell apart for them as some buyers just offer way above the odds purely to get their hands on it but with no intention to keep to the promised price! then after survey they knock their offer down. After weeks and weeks of wasted time, the flat came back on the market. In that case they were lucky second time round but it's a minefiled, and sensible vendors won't go for 'pie in the sky' as it's suspicious, usually with reason. Also EAs aren't always honest about level of interest or what the vendors want.

pinkred - what is worse is we have offered and bene rejected to only see the houses sell for less than our original offer about 18 montsh later.

We recently offered on a complete wreck - literally not a lick of paint or repair done to it for 27 years, rotting window frames, overgrown with sapling trees through what used to be the lawn.

We offered the same price that an identical wreck went for about 6 months ago in a nearby street. We are teh only offer they have had and yet the vendor said no and wants 25% more. They will not get that price in a month of Sundays.

MoreBeta, he will accept I'm sure, if you checkedthte sold prices and know it's the case, once he seees there are no offers. though offfering 25% under is very cheeky unusual Mot vendors prefer to wait and see first for a month or two, fair enough. But the whole sealed bids in a nightmare, as if you offer way above others (and somehow find out afterwards), you'd feel cheated as well. But in case of OP it sounds like it's genuinely a good value house (great area, will grow in value), so she won't go far wrong offering a bit above, or offering extras.