We have 2 full asking price offers In house but struggling to choose

[CjScat]

Desperate for advise.
We recently had 2 prospective buyers make offers for my late parents house. We refused these because we considered the offers too low.
We instructed our estate agent to tell them we have no rush and would wait for further viewing to hopefully get full asking price.
Within an hour both buyers had upped their offers to the full asking price...now we are unsure how to proceed.
The circumstance are the same with these interested parties, same deposit, both require a mortgage, Not in a chain and both asking to buy and complete quickly.
The estate agent said it’s a case of just picking one randomly!
We arranged a fixed fee with the estate agent who made it clear recently that they “don’t get into bidding over the asking price” war.
I find the estate agent quite sharpe actually and for them I feel there no incentive to push for higher price as the fee remains the same, In fact they advised us to go with the lower figure the moment it was offered!
I thought there was a way an estate agent could ask for a best and final offer !
It may be that one wants it enough to pay a little over, otherwise we may as well put the names in a hat!
We are seeking advise please.

The agent is working for you, not the buyer, so should be trying to get you the best price.
I'm not sure what I would do, as if you randomly picked one buyer and they messed around or pulled out you'd be kicking yourself. Maybe get the agent to advise them both of the situation and see if one is willing to up their price to secure it. Or could it go to sealed bids?

The marginal extra income in the agent's pocket if you go 1 or 2 over would not be loads anyway, even if it weren't fixed price. Frankly I find it a bit bizarre that they won't do best and final offers. I think I would formally ask them to do so in writing, and if they won't, they need to tell you why in writing. Surely they must be under a professional obligation to get the best price that reasonable endeavours can achieve.

If they are a member of a professional body you might be able to find out if they have a code of practice that they should adhere to. Maybe this is a thing now, but it's outside my experience personally.

Whatever you decide, I think you have an obligation to both your potential buyers to resolve it quickly.

Thank you for the quick replies.
Yes I also worry that I have two potential buyers currently dangling, I hate that thought.
In some ways it would be far easier if one was in a better position than the other, it would make the decision more clear.
I wonder if it’s best to go in and speak face to face with the estate agent as she seems abrupt and on the phone.

That's the problem with the fixed fee though, it does remove a bit of incentive from the EA to achieve a higher price.

Did you meet either of the prospective buyers yourself, or are you purely going on the word of the EA?

Not sure why the estate agent is being so rubbish? Surely the correct way forward is to tell them both the situation and ask them if they want to up their offer slightly?

They should definitely be doing best and final offers

Can you find out from the EA who upped their offer first?

Ask to see proof of funds - you’ll find lots of times the estate agents tell you they checked but didn’t. Ask what each of their current circumstances are... if they don’t have a home to sell, are they in rental (is it month to month or fixed tenancy)... month to month only needs to give a one month notice to landlord so more flexible...
How long have they been at their current jobs/ who can get a mortgage faster... and most important... who looks more nervous?

When that survey comes in, they will panic and may want to pull out.

I was going to say the above. See if they can both produce an agreement in principle from their prospective lenders - that may help to sway it.

I would go with one or the other quickly, we've been on the buyer situation with this and the longer it goes on the more you get anxious and concerned and start to consider back up plans.

I would be wary about pushing too high on offers, sometimes people will then pull out later. I would go with an experienced buyer over a first time buyer as they get less panicked by surveys. It's a bit of luck though. Proper proof of funds is worth investigating, ours only checked after offer accepted - give you 24 hours though you could go with one, give them 24 hours, if it fails go to other. Find out if they have actual mortgage offers. I doubt they are as identical as EA says. Our EA asked if there were problems on a survey what would you do, that's a useful question to ask.

When I sold my flat EA pushed buyer up to third offer, without even telling me about first two, she then pulled out after 2 months over really minor details (FTB).

You could explain to those offering that you have had 2 full price offers and want to be fair so ask them to put in a sealed bid for what they are prepared to offer over the asking price. Highest bid wins. Your estate agent should manage this ( ask for sealed bid and deadline to be received and open bids and communicate with bidders about who has won)

Could you ask for a written offer? We just have had an offer accepted after giving a written offer detailing our funding and position regards chain( not having one) also said what we had seen as issues (capital outlay) so that it showed that we knew these were going to show on a survey. It makes it a little easier for the buyer to see who is going in with open eyes sort of thing