Best offer? Help

YRazor

We have finally viewed a house that my Wife and I like, It is listed at 385 - 400K, we have made an offer of 390K.
Just got a call from the estate agent stating that everyone who viewed made an offer and the seller has asked everyone to make their 'best offer'
 and get back to them by Wednesday.

erm, what do we do, what does it even mean? is this a common tactic, ploy to get more money?
We are first time buyers, love the house and plan to live in it for the foreseeable.
I had said straight after the viewing that if we ended up in a bidding war i'd be happy to go to 400K but the way its panned out it seems like some weird game show and for all we know we already have the highest offer.

robatwork

Nobody can tell you:
a) If the Estate Agent is lying (but I would certainly ask them specifically how many people are bidding)
b) If the vendor would take 390k
c) what to offer

It's not common in my experience, but is your area fast moving? If so then it is very possible.

Do you have anything that makes your offer appealing other than the amount - eg. are you FTBers or not part of a chain, or cash buyers?

In your position I'd offer what I thought it was worth ie. 400k as a final bid.

lesalanos

Be careful about going too high if you are mortgaging.  If the mortgage company's valuation comes in lower than your offer then you would have to find a bigger deposit/get them to reduce the price .

It's a common enough tactic.  They probably have had a number of enquiries and want to get it sold asap

[Deleted User]

Hello,
This is similar to the situation I'm in. It sounds like, due to the amount of interest the house has had, it has gone to a closing date so you essentially have to decide upon one offer to submit and hope for the best! Unfortunately we have no way of knowing whether the agent is telling the truth. However, given the current market, it is very likely they are. It sounds like an offer towards the higher end would be a good idea, as well as using the fact you are first time buyers to your advantage (since there will be no chain to hold up the other side). Good luck!

YRazor

robatwork said:

Nobody can tell you:
a) If the Estate Agent is lying (but I would certainly ask them specifically how many people are bidding)
b) If the vendor would take 390k
c) what to offer

It's not common in my experience, but is your area fast moving? If so then it is very possible.

Do you have anything that makes your offer appealing other than the amount - eg. are you FTBers or not part of a chain, or cash buyers?

In your position I'd offer what I thought it was worth ie. 400k as a final bid.

Thanks, we are FTB's who are good to go (MIP, Conveyancers ready) so I hope this puts us in the best possible position, the seller does also need to find a property and I assume they are trying to beat the stamp duty holiday (ideal for us but we can afford if not). It is incredibly fast moving in our area (Bromley, South East London) and we've had properties sell before the viewings we have booked etc however as you suggest the Estate agent could be lying.

lesalanos said:

Be careful about going too high if you are mortgaging.  If the mortgage company's valuation comes in lower than your offer then you would have to find a bigger deposit/get them to reduce the price .

It's a common enough tactic.  They probably have had a number of enquiries and want to get it sold asap

Thanks for the advice, certainly something to think about

YRazor

Deleted_User said:

Hello,
This is similar to the situation I'm in. It sounds like, due to the amount of interest the house has had, it has gone to a closing date so you essentially have to decide upon one offer to submit and hope for the best! Unfortunately we have no way of knowing whether the agent is telling the truth. However, given the current market, it is very likely they are. It sounds like an offer towards the higher end would be a good idea, as well as using the fact you are first time buyers to your advantage (since there will be no chain to hold up the other side). Good luck!

Thanks @Deleted_User good luck to you too. Did you get to make an initial offer or was it straight to best offer? What do you plan to do, will you be going any higher than your initial offer (or what you would have offered)?

moneysavinghero

If 400k is the best offer you would be willing to offer then offer that. Unlikely it will win but you can only offer what you are prepared to pay, the people will bigger pockets will always win out in the end.

PollyWollyDoodle

I’m on the other side of this, I have just put my house on the market and I asked the agent what he meant by ‘sealed bids’. He said they would only usually do this if there are several offers on a property. He said that in his view it is fairer because it gives each party a few days to think about whether they really want the property and how much they want to pay. He also said that it isn’t necessarily about the highest bid, but about the buyer and their circumstances. i.e. whether they are in a long chain etc. It seems to be common in this area, also very fast-moving, because one of the other agents I asked for a valuation also mentioned it. 

[Deleted User]

YRazor said:

Deleted_User said:

Hello,
This is similar to the situation I'm in. It sounds like, due to the amount of interest the house has had, it has gone to a closing date so you essentially have to decide upon one offer to submit and hope for the best! Unfortunately we have no way of knowing whether the agent is telling the truth. However, given the current market, it is very likely they are. It sounds like an offer towards the higher end would be a good idea, as well as using the fact you are first time buyers to your advantage (since there will be no chain to hold up the other side). Good luck!

Thanks @Deleted_User good luck to you too. Did you get to make an initial offer or was it straight to best offer? What do you plan to do, will you be going any higher than your initial offer (or what you would have offered)?

You're welcome! I contacted the estate agent on Thurs to enquire about the process/ making an offer. I was told that it would likely go to a closing date/ best offer but they need to have a discussion on Tuesday with the seller (after the Easter weekend). I think I'll be going a little higher than what I'd have offered otherwise since, if it goes to best offers, there is likely to be competition. Trying to come to a figure in my head that is realistic for me but that I also anticipate being slightly higher than the competition. Difficult to do!

YRazor

PollyWollyDoodle said:

I’m on the other side of this, I have just put my house on the market and I asked the agent what he meant by ‘sealed bids’. He said they would only usually do this if there are several offers on a property. He said that in his view it is fairer because it gives each party a few days to think about whether they really want the property and how much they want to pay. He also said that it isn’t necessarily about the highest bid, but about the buyer and their circumstances. i.e. whether they are in a long chain etc. It seems to be common in this area, also very fast-moving, because one of the other agents I asked for a valuation also mentioned it. 

Hey @PollyWollyDoodle
interesting to see things from the other side as our minds have been racing wondering what causes it to come to this, fast paced sellers market, 'greedy' sellers/agents/solicitors etc?
It does seem that it will rarely be the sellers idea. The worry for us is that the whole thing now feels rather soulless and faceless, like when the day comes the seller will simply see all the offers and pick out the highest bid but it is good to know that maybe some thought will be put into the buyers situation. Not very hopeful but I think we now have an idea of what we will do.

Deleted_User said:

YRazor said:

Deleted_User said:

Hello,
This is similar to the situation I'm in. It sounds like, due to the amount of interest the house has had, it has gone to a closing date so you essentially have to decide upon one offer to submit and hope for the best! Unfortunately we have no way of knowing whether the agent is telling the truth. However, given the current market, it is very likely they are. It sounds like an offer towards the higher end would be a good idea, as well as using the fact you are first time buyers to your advantage (since there will be no chain to hold up the other side). Good luck!

Thanks @Deleted_User good luck to you too. Did you get to make an initial offer or was it straight to best offer? What do you plan to do, will you be going any higher than your initial offer (or what you would have offered)?

You're welcome! I contacted the estate agent on Thurs to enquire about the process/ making an offer. I was told that it would likely go to a closing date/ best offer but they need to have a discussion on Tuesday with the seller (after the Easter weekend). I think I'll be going a little higher than what I'd have offered otherwise since, if it goes to best offers, there is likely to be competition. Trying to come to a figure in my head that is realistic for me but that I also anticipate being slightly higher than the competition. Difficult to do!

Just found your thread and have been taking a look, a lot of useful advice. Seems pretty common place in Scotland, I hadn't even heard of this let alone expected it. I think we will now offer higher than our initial offer and maybe ever so slightly over asking price. I do doubt it will enough though and I think @moneysavinghero probably hit the nail on the head.

Crashy_Time

Are you paying cash?