Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Best and final offer (England)

22 replies

SpeciesOfSpaces · 09/04/2021 18:49

We’re first-time buyers. Put an offer on a property we love (but needs a lot of work: new bathroom, kitchen etc). They’ve had a higher offer from someone who has a buyer for their current house. EA now want to go to “best and final” offers on Monday. We LOVE the house but don’t want to go crazy. Given that we’re more proceedable could we say look, we’re willing to match or slightly exceed the other seller’s final offer? Or would that risk losing out! Help! I can really imagine us living there happily ever after...

OP posts:
Kipsy · 09/04/2021 18:59

Offer the maximum you can comfortably afford.
And hope that if your bid is less than the other bidder, that the vendor still picks you because you are chain-free.
Definitely highlight the fact that you're chain-free in your offer; show how organised you are by getting an AIP, conveyancer, surveyor lined up (but not booked). If the vendor is looking for a quick sale, he might well prefer you over someone in a chain.
Write about how much you love the house - that may well swing the choice too.

In a best and final situation, you will not be aware of the other bids - it would be quite dodgy to offer "other bidder's offer + extra" and I'm not sure the EA would be open to that... I know how you feel though, we are also in the same desperate situation.

Good luck!

Changingwiththetimes · 09/04/2021 19:15

Yes it's not done to do what you are proposing - it defeats the purpose of best and final.
It is a gamble and you will just have to put your best offer in (exactly as pp says) and hope for the best.

mklanch · 09/04/2021 19:18

be carefull on houses that need a lot of work. we recently saw a house that we loved....thought it might need around £30k put into it....so we paid someone experienced to go for a viewing and inspect. turns out it needs over £100k and that doesnt include outbuilding or hidden costs etc!.

the crazy thing is their were many people viewing that were like us and thought it didnt need as much work as it does.

Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 09/04/2021 19:24

Thanks so much for the replies. All very sage advice. We have a mortgage in principle all sorted and will get a surveyor lined up. Do you think people are really swayed by how much you love the place, or is it purely “business”? We do love it....but I’m trying to tell myself there’ll be other houses and maybe detach emotionally. A bit worried about prices spiralling out of our reach if we wait. And we need the space (currently in a flat with a baby)!

OP posts:
HumourReplacementTherapy · 09/04/2021 19:44

Depends where you are. Here best and final are going 10% over asking. In fact everything is going 10% over asking.
We viewed one at 375 and the highest bid was 415.
Another on at 425-450k has gone for 480k
Up north too Sad
So know your market really well before you make your decision and be clear about how much it will cost to renovate.
If you'd kick yourself for not offering that extra 2/3k but you could have afforded it, then make peace with it and offer the money.

Kipsy · 09/04/2021 19:56

If an offer is significantly higher than the others, and the EA has done their due diligence re proceedability, then I would think it's unlikely for a vendor to pick a much lower offer.
But if it's a close thing, then it's almost impossible to predict.
Your being chain free is the number 1 reason for a vendor to choose you even with a lower offer. If the vendor is desperate to close on a sale, then you would be very attractive.
If it is a family home being sold on after the vendors have lived there for many years - sentimentality (baby) could swing it for you. But if it's say a probate property or a tenanted property being sold off, then it's probably not as much a factor.
Sometimes the EA advises the vendor.

All the best OP, I had a friend say they unexpectedly won in a best and final situation - they had no hopes of it but it worked out for them. So you never know!

Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 09/04/2021 20:33

It’s an emotional rollercoaster. Yesterday the EA said that one of the executors had said ‘yes’ (it belonged to an elderly lady who passed away), and only had to confirm with the other. Today we were told about the other offer. Now we have to wait until Monday without going mad!

OP posts:
Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 10/04/2021 12:12

PP mentioned that some sellers might make an ‘emotional decision’. Could I write a paragraph about us and ask the EA to send it to them? Or is that not done?

OP posts:
Gyptian · 10/04/2021 12:16

We lost out on a house to first time buyers despite offering 5k more, so you never know. The vendor might pick you anyway as it keeps the chain shorter.

Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 10/04/2021 12:20

Thanks, Gyptian!

OP posts:
Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 10/04/2021 12:21

Did you have a long chain? The other offer is from someone with a buyer who is according to the EA “ready to proceed”.

OP posts:
Gyptian · 10/04/2021 12:22

Also with your best and final offer, I would include all of the information about why you love the house, are FTB’s, young family, solicitors lined up etc. We were in this situation several times and our best and final offer consisted of the figure and a paragraph containing extra information we hoped would be in our favour.

Gyptian · 10/04/2021 12:24

@SpeciesOfSpaces-no, we were sold to FTB but the vendor wanted a quick sale.

Kipsy · 10/04/2021 12:34

In our experience, we’ve been asked to submit not just the offer price but also details on whether the purchase is dependent on a house being sold, how we propose to finance the purchase, solicitor details, and any other info that might help with the offer.

It’s under the ‘any other info’ that you’ll need to mention why you are keen to secure the house.

Talk to the EA after you email, to confirm they’ve got the offer and also confirm that all the info will be passed on to the vendors.

Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 10/04/2021 12:49

One more thought. The sellers haven’t actually decided to go for best and final yet. Do you think I should send the paragraph now? And if so, would it be stupid to mention that we could increase our initial offer ‘if the sellers decide not to go for best and final offer’, or would that just be an indication for them to think that best and final is a good idea? I may be overthinking this!

OP posts:
bilbodog · 10/04/2021 12:57

I would offer the most i could if i really wanted it.

Original poster
SpeciesOfSpaces · 13/04/2021 10:44

Offer accepted! Thanks so much for helping me get a sense of the unwritten rules...

OP posts:
Sandrine1982 · 13/04/2021 13:19

Congrats! Can you disclose where it is (approx area) ? I'm also wondering how much over the asking price the houses I'm looking at go for.
Question for everyone: is it OK to ask the agent how much they sold a particular house once they completed the sale?

Sandrine1982 · 13/04/2021 13:24

PS: I know I can check this on Rightmove but the house I loved and missed out on is not there yet

Sweetmelody72 · 13/04/2021 14:15

@Sandrine1982

Congrats! Can you disclose where it is (approx area) ? I'm also wondering how much over the asking price the houses I'm looking at go for. Question for everyone: is it OK to ask the agent how much they sold a particular house once they completed the sale?
The agent should tell you if the sale has been completed. I’ve been told this about a property when a sale fell through on it then came back to market, but they won’t tell you in an ‘active’ situation
Sandrine1982 · 13/04/2021 14:58

Hmm thanks makes sense, thanks :)

mklanch · 14/04/2021 16:30

we just lost out on best and final offer. we offered alost 50k over asking....but they have gone with a cash buyer who offered somewhere around the asking price!
im so annoyed...we literally have been trying to buy for over a year and thought we really got it this time!
we are mortgage ready (With large deposit), no chain etc
it just proved it doesnt matter what the offer is...they will always choose the cash buyer!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread