Final offer on repossession

milek

Hello,
I recently offered the asking price on a repossession which was accepted.
We was ready to submit the mortgage application and the solicitor was about to request money for searches etc.
Then, A call came through from the EA saying our offer had been exceeded and they will ask for our "best and final offer" (their exact words) by 11am the next day,
We did as requested, we increased the offer by a few thousand, and the other bidder increased offer but our offer was accepted.

The other bidder was not happy that their offer was not accepted and they asked to increase offer. So now, the EA are asking for our best and final offers again by monday.

Is this right? Surely best and FINAL offer means FINAL meaning the bid can not be changed again? I was not happy yet they insist they will still request best and final again for Monday
I like the property and would increase again slightly if need-be surely final offer means final offer?

Can anyone shed some light on this issue? (Any advice or legal side of the terminology etc)

Foxy-Stoat_3

As with any repossession, the bank will want the most money possible. Until you exchange contracts the vendor (bank) can decide to accept a higher offer.

One of the downsides when buying a repossession, upside is that it should be a lot cheaper.

silvercar

How many "final" offers are you prepared to make?

GDB2222

Indeed, how many 'best' offers are you prepared to make?

Seriously, it's just part of the joy of buying a repo. The banks have got seriously good at marketing these. They put them on at a fairly low price, attract a lot of interest, and let the market find its own level.

SmlSave

As with any repossession, the bank will want the most money possible. Until you exchange contracts the vendor (bank) can decide to accept a higher offer.

One of the downsides when buying a repossession, upside is that it should be a lot cheaper.

Agreed, a higher offer can be accepted from anyone even a day before exchange!

Thrugelmir

GDB2222 wrote: »

Seriously, it's just part of the joy of buying a repo. The banks have got seriously good at marketing these. They put them on at a fairly low price, attract a lot of interest, and let the market find its own level.

The bank has a responsibility to the debtor to obtain the best possible price. As the debtor is still responsible for any shortfall (if there is one).

The market will determine the best price. However time costs money (interest). So the property needs to be sold on as soon as practically possible.

StuC75

Unfortunately its par for the course with repossessions.. It also helps to ensure that they get the best price for the previous owner so less of a shortfall that they may need to cover..

betmunch

The problem here is that you cant have "best and final" offers on a repo, for the reasons above.

It was silly of the EA to suggest it really.

If I was you I would make my best and final offer now, then walk away if the other guy outbids you.

G_M

betmunch wrote: »

It was silly of the EA to suggest it really.

.

Why? It worked. TheOP raised his offer (and by the sound of it may do so again) so the EA is doing a good job for his client.

Clearly the OP did NOT give either his 'best' or his 'final' offer previously!

And nor did the other buyer.

venetianlagoon

G_M wrote: »

Why? It worked. TheOP raised his offer (and by the sound of it may do so again) so the EA is doing a good job for his client.

Clearly the OP did NOT give either his 'best' or his 'final' offer previously!

And nor did the other buyer.

Well, few people really do, most offer what they think will be accepted. Repos are notoriously hard work in terms of offer and counter offer, you just have to decide on your limit and stick to it.

milek

Thanks for the responses,
My previous "best and final offer" was based on what I thought it would go to, rather than my "best" offer. In which, my offer exceeded the rival buyers,
I would not have minded if his exceeded my offer, providing the terminology was not total useless, the word final means last to me, so no more offers after that, why not just say "increase offers".

Based on this "term" I will be increasing my bid to what I believe I can get away with again, rather than my best offer, seeing that it is apparent I can make as many offers as I want and that the word final lacks meaning. If it doesn't exceed the rival buyers again, I will keep increasing to a reasonable amount until it does exceed, this is not poor practice is it?

My previous offer is £93,050
I could probably comfortably increase another few thousand.

I'm struggling to actually think of my BEST offer, what I think the property is worth giving its potential.

The property sold in 2007 for £140,000 and again later in that year for £125,000. Land registry believes in this period there was a change of -17% therefore if the house remained in roughly the same condition then the value would be £104,000. (I know this depends on a lot of factors etc but it gives a good guideline for someone who's not a valuer)
Then minus the damages (not too bad) and modernisation.