Outbid at best and final offers - should I increase my offer?

[HollieTalbut1997]

Thanks for any advice as this is all new to me as a first time buyer!

I offered on a fab house on Saturday, I offered the asking price. I heard today that it’s going to best and final offers and so I increased my offer and submitted the necessary documents they asked for as proof of finance.
The estate agent called this afternoon and said there was a higher bid than mine, though this person has not submitted the requested proof. I am the next highest.
Hearing there was a higher offer made me really realise how much I want this property. Does anyone have advice?

Should I try offering more, but also worried how this looks after it’s already been to best and final. I wonder if I should hold out but I don’t know what the chances are that the other buyer never provides the documents. The estate agent has said if they don’t provide the documents then my offer would be accepted.

Best and final is best and final.. we were in a similar situation last year with a property we wanted to purchase, we offered the price that the property was worth to us. Good luck going forward, there will always be another property.

There will be another property and the EA has already said you are first in line if the other offer doesn’t stack up … nothing more you can do really …

I'd sit tight and wait and see. Best and final means exactly that you don't get another go if you didn't bid your best and final.
I'm currently living in the house I put a best and final in on we bid what we could afford and came second as someone else bid 10k more than us however a few weeks later the estate agent called us up as the first buyer was no longer in a position to proceed.

In England, best and final offers is only as final as the vendor chooses to make it. There is absolutely nothing stopping you making a further offer, and the EA is obliged to pass it on to the vendor. It's up to the vendor whether they consider it or not.

The EA may advise them against it, because it smacks at panicked behaviour which may well result in the offer being withdrawn when the buyer has time to reflect and realises that they have offered over the odds.

We lost a best and final offer, and went back in again with a further offer, which was considered. The other bidders then upped their offer again, by a substantial amount, and the EA advised us that the vendor would absolutely not consider another offer - I'm assuming because it would then have certainly taken it to the point of being significantly over valued and liable to fall through.

Someone did this to us, after the deadline and we had already had our offer accepted - was VERY frustrating. You should have offered your best offer to start with…that is the whole point of best and final…

Don't increase the offer now. It's meant to be best and final. If the other potential buyer doesn't have the right paperwork you would be offered the opportunity to buy next.

Well no offer has been accepted yet so not the same!

I wouldn’t write it off yet. It isn’t inevitable that the sellers accept the highest offer. As a seller I have accepted lower offers from buyers in a better position (higher deposit, no chain, etc) and as a buyer I had my lower offer accepted for a similar reason. Don’t increase. Good luck!