Best and Final Offer vs Incremental Offers

RelievedSheff

WR83 said:

Final offer submitted, and then subsequently rejected. Appears the estate agent is a little despondent - he asked them to reduce 6 weeks ago as now obvious it is on for too much, and they won't. Time to look for something else / wait and see if they take any price action before I have found anything.

Time to start looking for that property that you really do love now then.

You can leave your offer on the table but continue your search for a home you really want.

TheProfessional

We went up incrementally and our vendors came down incrementally. In the end we met in the middle of sorts but it was over what our initially thought max was. Lots of reasons but we are happy. If it hadn't have happened it would have been disappointing but other houses come along, plenty more fish in the sea etc

WR83

Thanks all - sound advice. We are very conscious that this is probably our middle home - one we will do for 5 to 10 years, but then move to hopefully our forever home. So trying to strike a balance of price, convenience, investment and return on any work we might do in that period.  

We have one other in mind as suitable today, love the house but has more frictions on practical aspects for parking. Think we will play a similar hand on that today, initial and then best and final and see where we are at.

If we end the week without a house (wife due second child tomorrow), then not the end of the world, although I suppose there does come a point where the market quietens over the winter and less is available. Combined with the diminishing opportunity to exploit the stamp duty cut, we can always go back in a week or two to either if still available.

steampowered

I don't think "incremental offers" are a good strategy. It just encourages the vendor to respond in kind or stick to their guns rather than comprimising.

I'd put in one more good offer, possibly with a tiny bit of wriggle room in it, with a view to your 3rd offer being "final".

WR83

steampowered said:

I don't think "incremental offers" are a good strategy. It just encourages the vendor to respond in kind or stick to their guns rather than comprimising.

I'd put in one more good offer, possibly with a tiny bit of wriggle room in it, with a view to your 3rd offer being "final".

Went with that for my second - in at 89.5% with room for £5k to push to the next obvious rounding. I will be transparent with the agent if my offer on the alternative property is accepted today - will let him know that has happened, and if they do want to reconsider then they need to come back very quickly, when I meant final, it was final.

We shall see. If it wasn't for the prospect of being homeless as Christmas I would probably be enjoying this!