Best offer request from estate agent

richparry

Looking for any advise that may help my situation.

I have put and asking price offer on a property and apparently so has another buyer. Estate agent has asked for both parties to submit a best price. Not a nice situation but has anyone got any advise on how to deal with it.

I was planning on:

1. Trying to check if other party submits a best price before I submit mine.
2. Check that property is off market after decision is made on this.

Rich Parry.

poppysarah

Our experience of this is they take a last and final offer on the property and whoever is highest wins. However from seeing what it went for (to a local property developer) I'm fairly convinced he said "£50 more than she offers"
That's just the jaded losers opinion though.

Whether you bid higher and then plan on gazundering at the last minute - not very nice though to do that... unless it works for you!

QTPie

richparry wrote: »

Estate agent has asked for both parties to submit a best price. Not a nice situation but has anyone got any advise on how to deal with it.

I wouldn't expect this to be a "best and final" offer situation - the estate agent is trying to play the two of you off against each other in a bidding war: once the EA has the "best offers", I would totally expect her to go back to the person who made the lower offer and say "the other buyer offered x?". At least that is what happened to my mother a couple of years ago... at which point (after making her "best offer" and it being slightly lower than the other offer, she rethought and pulled out).

You have to decide how much you want to pay for the property (how much it is worth to you? are there similar properties around etc) and what games you are willing to play. It is a VERY personal decision.

Good luck
QT

hethmar

Is this a repo? In which case it may be a genuine best and final offer situation. Make sure you have your mortgage in principle and let them know if you are a first time buyer.

Good luck

bob79

Consider the following two scenarios:

*The estate agent might be lying about the other offer.

*The other person who offered might not be able to proceed. Many people seem to be making offers only to then realize that there are no 100% mortgages of 8 times income around anymore.

QTPie

bob79 wrote: »

*The other person who offered might not be able to proceed. Many people seem to be making offers only to then realize that there are no 100% mortgages of 8 times income around anymore.

It never fails to amaze me how people offer on a house BEFORE doing their research.... I SO wish we had something more like the Scottish system - anyone who is making an offer on a house should be genuine and VERY well researched! :rolleyes:

QT

poppysarah

And if you don't think it's worth more to you, don't bid more. Leave your offer where it is.

hamblettamaud

i agree totally. make sure the estate agent (who probably has zero scruples) know that your bid is the highest you are prepared to go (even if that isn't true). it def sounds like they are trying to get a bidding war going. in these days you can just as easily walk away.