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Original poster

Tactical offer above the asking price?

45 replies

Itshellofromme · 25/04/2017 19:35

I have made an offer of the full asking price on a house local to me. There are two other offers exactly the same!

We have all been asked to present our best and final offer by tomorrow.

I really want the house as it is in a popular area and they don't come up for sale very often. I have been waiting to pounce for several months. However im not desperate and don't want to pay a silly amount.

The house is on at £220,000. What would you offer? What would you assume the others would do? I was thinking of an extra £1k, then I thought £1500 in case the others offers are the same. Or even £1600? Is that enough to secure it? What about £222,000?

Any ideas? Has anyone actually done this? Thanks

OP posts:

Original poster

Itshellofromme · 26/04/2017 08:28

5k? Really? I was going to go about £2500 above.

OP posts:

Attie17 · 26/04/2017 08:35

Our house went to best and final offers. We offered £xx5,760. The other bidders were in the same position as us - first-time buyers, similar deposits, renting and looking to buy a family home. So it came down to price. We bid £205 more than them - I saw the letter confirming their bid and that they'd been unsuccessful. My husband had wanted to offer about £500 less than we did, but I thought post people would bid in increments of £250, so better to go over £xxx,750.

We potentially could have went higher but I felt our offer was a fair bid for the house. And was willing to lose it at that figure, but not for £500 cheaper. I think that's key.

anotherBadAvatar · 26/04/2017 09:00

Our house went to best and final. Asking price £325k

Of the 3 offers we considered:

Man 1 - rented accommodation, initial offer £325, best and final of £330k
Family 2 - small chain, wrote really lovely letter, initial offer £318, best and final £328
Family 3 - larger chain, initial offer £320, best and final £330.

We went with Man 1 because of his rented position (and we needed a quick move), but if family 2 had been in rented we would have gone with them as they were so keen on the house, despite their best and final being £2k under.

Everyone "upped" their offers by 5-10k though.

HiDBandSIL · 26/04/2017 09:04

If it's a popular area there might be a second round of best and "final" offers...

Original poster

Itshellofromme · 26/04/2017 09:05

Ok that's useful to know thanks.

OP posts:

origamiwarrior · 26/04/2017 10:17

If the house is at £220 and it's got 3 interested parties in it, I would imagine the winning bid would be at least £225, poss up to £228.

In terms of an uneven number, I would only do that in realistic increments, i.e. of £500.

It sounds as like you have the money to increase your offer, but you don't want to overpay. So you need to work out a) market value of the house and b) just how desperately you want the house.

Does anyone remember that episode of Location Location when the buyers, spurred on by Phil and Kirsty, put in a best and final bid over the asking price which was then accepted. Then, a few weeks later, a letter for the vendor listing all the bids received was accidentally sent to the buyer and they discovered they were about £40K above the next nearest bid. They pulled out. That estate agent/administrator must have got into big trouble!

EssentialHummus · 26/04/2017 10:45

In terms of an uneven number, I would only do that in realistic increments, i.e. of £500.

Why? I'd hate to lose a house because I offered £100,500 and the next person offered £100,501.

KatyBerry · 26/04/2017 11:00

Bear in mind that if one of the other parties is mortgage free, they can offer whatever they like whereas anyone with a mortgage will need to toe the line with the mortgage valuation....

Original poster

Itshellofromme · 26/04/2017 11:20

We are all cash buyers.

OP posts:

GinnyBaker · 26/04/2017 11:36

Our flat on for 360,000 got three asking price offers on the saturday so sealed bids monday by noon. They were 362,000 (no chain, first time buyer 30% deposit). 365,000 (no chain, first time buyer, 25% deposit), 370,000 (chain). We went for the middle one.

If you are all cash buyers, they'll be mad not to go for the highest offer!

Don't know which area of the country you are in but in London letter writing with the bids doesn't work. (There was a famous one a few years ago where a family really wanted it to be a forever home their kids could grow up in and included a picture their little boy had drawn of the house. They got the house. It was a single property developer who turned it into three flats and sold on again). So if you are in London just state the facts of your bid ie cash only and the figure.

Mistressiggi · 26/04/2017 11:46

I don't understand why people are saying you can't go above a mortgage valuation. I've paid considerably more than a valuation for a property, you just have to have that money in your bank you can't get a loan for it.

origamiwarrior · 26/04/2017 11:47

Why? I'd hate to lose a house because I offered £100,500 and the next person offered £100,501

But this isn't ebay - no one would sell a house to one person over another for the sake of £1. In that scenario (effectively two identical bids) you would always make the choice based on the buyers' positions (chain, timescale, evidence of funds, solicitor on board) and a host of other reasons (moving back to area, wanting to make a family home, loves the period features, went to the same school as you, is a key worker, whether the estate agent has met you, etc)

OP, if you can send a letter with evidence of your cash (i.e. savings statement), the name of your solicitor (and say they are tee'd up and ready to go, and if possible that you have used them before and found them to be very quick and responsive), emphasise your flexibility (can move quickly if that's what the vendor needs or will be prepared to wait if they need to sell their house) and then include something that flatters them (such that it's rare that you've ever walked in to a house and had such a positive feeling about it, or you love the way they have preserved the period features, or you could tell straightaway this had been a lovely family home) then that might swing it for you in the situation of two similar bids.

NB. Make it clear if you are a cash buyer with nothing to sell. There seems to have been some estate agency creep in recent years where someone who still has a house to sell, but will then be buying their new house with the equity from the sale (i.e. no mortgage) describes themselves as a cash buyer

StripyBlanket · 26/04/2017 12:52

Yes yes yes to origami's cash buyer point. Make sure that if you are a proper proper cash buyer you are very clear about this. Our buyers said they were cash buyers. But then we had to wait for them to sell their house.

CocoLoco87 · 26/04/2017 13:22

Have you met the people selling? We got our current house over other people because they took a shine to DS and wanted him to enjoy the house like their DC did. Nothing to do with £££ or chain etc in the end! Who'd have thought a chatty toddler would seal the deal

flownthecoopkiwi · 26/04/2017 20:49

Hmm we completely offered lots above the guide price. It was 550k, someone had offered that and then someone else offered 555. We loved the house so much we went to 575... yicks!!!

Love my new house though and we paid what we could afford, plus one of the offers was from a cash buyer. We also then negotiated money off for work that needed doing.

Good luck!

OlennasWimple · 26/04/2017 20:52

Unless you are buying the house on eBay, offering an "odd" number is not what will get you the house.

Making a fair, competitive offer commensurate with your ability to proceed promptly will take you a long way. If you can also get the vendor to connect with you in some way (eg an older couple might want the house where they brought up their family to go to another family; first time buyers might prefer to sell to other first time buyers...) so much the better too

Bringmewineandcake · 26/04/2017 20:58

What did you go for, OP?

Original poster

Itshellofromme · 27/04/2017 07:26

Update: I offered £3k more in the end but there was another offer higher than mine so the vendor has gone with them.

OP posts:

heron98 · 27/04/2017 08:50

Don't offer more than the house is worth. DP and I lost out on a few houses because of this, but I refused to be ripped off.

Bearbehind · 27/04/2017 11:12

This house is clearly 'worth' more than the asking price though as there's 3 cash buyers fighting for it.

Are you ok about missing out on it OP?

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