Can I avoid the dreaded best and final offer scenario?

propertyhunter

Thank you all. I don't know what happened to the other offers. I think price won as you'd expect. They did also comment that they wanted a quick completion to get access to the funds, so the no chain aspect worked in my favour. They've indicated 2 months, but mortgage offers are taking between 38-42 days at the moment apparently.

When giving my offer, I did say that I completed on my sale double quick because I was proactive - my solicitor for that transaction was useless. For example, I was the one who had to get the tree preservation order from the council within a day when the solicitor said it would not be possible! A part of me thinks that also set me apart. I'll never know until after completion when the EA will likely tell me what the other offers if I were to ask. I know all at the second round were above asking. 

UnderOffer

propertyhunter said:

Thank you all. I don't know what happened to the other offers. I think price won as you'd expect. They did also comment that they wanted a quick completion to get access to the funds, so the no chain aspect worked in my favour. They've indicated 2 months, but mortgage offers are taking between 38-42 days at the moment apparently.

When giving my offer, I did say that I completed on my sale double quick because I was proactive - my solicitor for that transaction was useless. For example, I was the one who had to get the tree preservation order from the council within a day when the solicitor said it would not be possible! A part of me thinks that also set me apart. I'll never know until after completion when the EA will likely tell me what the other offers if I were to ask. I know all at the second round were above asking. 

Would the EA really tell you the other offers, or even tell you the truth? Why would you ask? Just enjoy your new property and move on. 

propertyhunter

Yeah I'm happy with the price, it's just other posters kindly asked about the other offers - but I mean it's probably going to be £5-10k in it between us max. I mean there were 14 people - I spoke to another agent in the area who was helping me with my search and he was surprised it didn't fetch £5-10k more than I paid for it. 

Ramouth

Congratulations!  I hope everything goes smoothly for you and you enjoy your new home.  I sometimes worry that we paid too much for our place and would like to know what the other offers were but we enjoy living here so much that it really doesn’t matter.  Hopefully you will feel the same.

propertyhunter

Absolutely, no regrets. I'm just over the moon right now. 

Thrugelmir

propertyhunter said:

Yeah I'm happy with the price, it's just other posters kindly asked about the other offers - but I mean it's probably going to be £5-10k in it between us max. I mean there were 14 people - I spoke to another agent in the area who was helping me with my search and he was surprised it didn't fetch £5-10k more than I paid for it. 

There's an increasing level of property coming onto the market now. I'd happily wait rather than overpay if it wasn't a property I'd set my heart on. Interest rate rises are on the horizon. The increased debt needs to be serviced and repaid as well. 

propertyhunter

It's all a personal thing. Just buy it and make sure you can afford it at the time, including any down valuations. This is what we have done. They say more houses are coming onto the market, but unless they are probate, I don't see how it is going to help the housing shortage. 60% of my competitors in the best and final had no chain. So to satisfy demand, we need to see much more inventory coming on - and I just don't see it happening, especially in the area we've gone for. 

The other thing that made me know this was the one was that we sent speculative letters to 30 or so other properties in the 3 roads that we wanted to live on - no response to any - so we know the houses we wanted weren't likely to list anytime soon. 

Thrugelmir

propertyhunter said:

It's all a personal thing. Just buy it and make sure you can afford it at the time, including any down valuations. This is what we have done. They say more houses are coming onto the market, but unless they are probate, I don't see how it is going to help the housing shortage. 60% of my competitors in the best and final had no chain. So to satisfy demand, we need to see much more inventory coming on - and I just don't see it happening, especially in the area we've gone for. 

The other thing that made me know this was the one was that we sent speculative letters to 30 or so other properties in the 3 roads that we wanted to live on - no response to any - so we know the houses we wanted weren't likely to list anytime soon. 

People move for a whole variety of reasons.  Financial distress, retirement. relationship breakdown,  job relocation, school entry, moving into a care home not just death. We have been living through a pandemic for the past 2 years. Life hasn't been normal.  Though there's plenty of indications of oblivion by many people to the wider impacts.  Throw a pebble in a pond and watch the ripples so to speak. 

propertyhunter

You are absolutely right @Thrugelmir. I have a nasty habit of buying at the peak!

I agree with you - I do think some kind of economic shock is on the horizon.