I hate 'best and final offer'

[Note3]

We put in an offer which was higher than another interested party. Estate agent has gone to best and final offers. Basically a stab in the dark for all involved.

I'm annoyed, stressed and anxious. Have submitted an offer but decided I'd like to raise it and now can't get hold of the person.

Wish it hadn't gone all cloak and dagger and was just up front offers :(

I'm on the fence.

They are useful for getting the max price people are willing to pay as a vendor.

But as a buyer it is a bit stressful! I got a bit caught up in a best and final and lost out, then after wards I was like THANK FUCK FOR THAT because actually I went way higher than I should have done. Actually seems to have sold for my highest offer so I had a lucky escape!

I agree, it's incredibly stressful. We eventually "won" at this, and while I love the place I still wonder if we overpaid/what the next person bid.

It's really hard as you don't know if the other party were even going to increase their offer or whether you increased yours by thousands or whatever and for no reason.

It's only in the seller's favour. I can understand why they do it but as a buyer it hacks me off and I was tempted to tell them to shove it as I don't like being cornered.

It's not just in the seller's interest. It prevents a draw-out bidding war between multiple buyers.

I can kind of see what you're saying but still feel really it's in the buyers interests. Basically it saves the estate agent a few phone calls between the interested parties to see if they'll improve on the other parties offer. Eg. If one party reaches a final offer of 330k and says they will not go higher then second party could have been willing to go to 335k as top price but could save themselves a few grand by beating other price and not paying full amount they would have gone to.

Oops delete buyer and insert seller

We walked away from an overhyped sealed bits situation that an agent tried to draw us into after making a reasonable offer.

I don't know if the other interested party/ies walked away too but the flat didn't sell for a couple of months in an extremely fast moving market so I think so. Assuming there ever were any other buyers.

Makes you wonder doesn't it Moving?!

Awful, isn't it? Like a protracted game of "Guess what number I'm thinking of?"

We won't be drawn into doing that again.

We got our current house through 'best and final'. We treated it like an auction, made what was our max offer and that was it, no more no matter how tempting!

In Scotland this is a common way of negotiating a sale, that's why the adverts say 'offers over'. You do, however have to state your buying position and the vendor has no obligation to accept the highest offer.

I've taken a house sale to sealed bids once. It was on my solicitors advice. We had several offers on the table, it was becoming a horrorible bidding war with no end in sight, and all with a good story to tell, so the solicitor said take it to sealed bids and close it down. So we did and we did. Someone did substantially out bid the others, but they really wanted it because it was close to other family members, they could afford it and were not intent on selling it again, so we went with their offer.

It is stressful for the buyers, but we did it for a reason and to be fair it meant an end to it for all of us.

We 'sold' a house that way on advice of the agent. Obviously took the substantially higher offer. Several weeks later the buyers take a builder friend along, decide they want to do £30,000 of work and want to drop the price by that much (making it lower than the other bidder). We said no thanks and goodbye. It's not always a great experience for the seller either.

We had a fair few houses that went to best and final. Luckily my DP runs his own business and is ruled by his head not his heart as he really reigned me in. I think otherwise I'd have put in a crazy offer and regretted it. Looking back I'm glad we missed out and didn't get swept up in a bidding war.

Someone did substantially out bid the others This does seem often to be the case, which means someone pays over the odds.

Does anyone remember the tv programme (Location Location Location?), where it went to best and final offers. The couple we were following really loved the house, so put in a high bid (encouraged by the presenter). They got the house.

However, some time later, the estate agent sent the couple a letter meant for the owner, which showed the couple had bid considerably more than the next highest person - who didn't have the "help" of the tv programme! They backed out of the purchase. (Or did I dream all that!)

Quiteunfitbit - I remember that! It was something crazy like £100,000 higher than the other offer, was a huge old gothic type house I think. I'm blurry on the details too but definitely remember the scenario and always wondered if the letter which had 'accidentally' been sent was by someone at the estate agent's whose conscience got the better of them!

I'm an agent and very occasionally use best and finals.
The last occasions were an open day with 25 viewings and 12 offers of the asking price from buyers in a very similar position.
The time before was 2 buyers who started the worlds most annoying bidding war (both increasing by £1k at a time, at the same time)!

Sometimes it's just best for all involved.

Also often the vendor doesn't go with th highest best and final if it's ridiculously over asking and will just get down valued in a survey or will go back with a counter offer if it's way higher to 'meet in the middle'.