Best and Final Bids

sarahftb

Hi everyone,

Today we viewed a house that is on the market for £370,000 - £400,000. We loved it and put in and offer for £392,000 as the agent said there were already four offers on the table and they were looking to get an offer towards the top end of the scale (he admitted the £370k was just to garner interest and hook people in).

We're expecting to hear back on Monday when we'll most likely have to give best and final bids. As first time buyers we're not sure what to do in this situation. We love the house and don't want to lose it but does that warrant going over the asking price to make sure we get it? Slightly worried about paying more than the asking price or even worse, outbidding ourselves. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

RelievedSheff

Offer the highest that you are willing to pay for the house.

If it goes to best and final it will go over the asking price.

dimbo61

This all depends on the local market.
How many properties of this type are available in your area ?
How many viewings happen each time you see a property you like ? 
I recently had a friend view a house along with about 40 other interested buyers. 
The house was underpriced by about £40/50,000 and they had 13 offers from Interested buyers.
It went well over guide price

Salemicus

The asking price is now irrelevant. You need to bid an amount such that:
* You would be happy if you won.
* You would not feel regretful if you lost.
If in doubt, focus on the first. Beware the "winner's curse."

sarahftb

dimbo61 said:

How many properties of this type are available in your area ?
How many viewings happen each time you see a property you like ? 
I recently had a friend view a house along with about 40 other interested buyers. 

There have been a few houses for sale on the same street, but none of this particular Victorian style. From the guide prices of the other properties I'd say this one is in line with the others, I guess it's just a personal decision on how much we're willing to pay and how much we would deem as "too much" 

Bossworld

From what I read at the time you shouldn’t bid an ‘exact’ amount (e.g we put in £212,212 rather than £210,000 ) but that could just be an old wives tale I guess

on the other hand, the other party we were up against bid £228,000 according to the Land Registry. Whoops for them

hazyjo

Bossworld said:

From what I read at the time you shouldn’t bid an ‘exact’ amount (e.g we put in £212,212 rather than £210,000 ) but that could just be an old wives tale I guess

on the other hand, the other party we were up against bid £228,000 according to the Land Registry. Whoops for them

It's more that you offer say £212k. To add odd pounds at the end just looks a bit silly (perhaps say a £250, 500 or 750 wouldn't look so bad). You really don't want to look like you've had to tip your piggy bank upside down! Anyway, it's what you think it's worth rather than "this is every penny I've got".

Bossworld

hazyjo said:

Bossworld said:

From what I read at the time you shouldn’t bid an ‘exact’ amount (e.g we put in £212,212 rather than £210,000 ) but that could just be an old wives tale I guess

on the other hand, the other party we were up against bid £228,000 according to the Land Registry. Whoops for them

It's more that you offer say £212k. To add odd pounds at the end just looks a bit silly (perhaps say a £250, 500 or 750 wouldn't look so bad). You really don't want to look like you've had to tip your piggy bank upside down! Anyway, it's what you think it's worth rather than "this is every penny I've got".

I just went for something palindromic but we ended up moving not very far away at all, and walking past the one we missed out on, they really must have spent up because it's not had any of the work done to it that it desperately needed.  

moneysavinghero

Someone will probably bid very high to make sure they win but with the intention to drop their offer just before exchange. If you are unlucky enough to come up against this type of person there's not much you can do. You are going to have to offer at least asking price to stand a chance even without those guys getting involved.

NameUnavailable

moneysavinghero said:

Someone will probably bid very high to make sure they win but with the intention to drop their offer just before exchange. If you are unlucky enough to come up against this type of person there's not much you can do. You are going to have to offer at least asking price to stand a chance even without those guys getting involved.

This is why 'best and final' offers is kind of pointless. It is of course still subject to survey and mortgage valuation (if borrowing) so if there's issues on the survey or it's downvalued by the lender then it's back to negotiating the price.

Scotbot

hazyjo said:

Bossworld said:

From what I read at the time you shouldn’t bid an ‘exact’ amount (e.g we put in £212,212 rather than £210,000 ) but that could just be an old wives tale I guess

on the other hand, the other party we were up against bid £228,000 according to the Land Registry. Whoops for them

It's more that you offer say £212k. To add odd pounds at the end just looks a bit silly (perhaps say a £250, 500 or 750 wouldn't look so bad). You really don't want to look like you've had to tip your piggy bank upside down! Anyway, it's what you think it's worth rather than "this is every penny I've got".

The general advice is not to go with a round number as others may do the same and you are more likely to be the highest if if is not rounded up to the nearest 5k.  However if the vendor also looks at the buyers position and how proceedable they are they may decide not to go with the highest.