Best & Final Offer On House - how to pitch it to be successful

Martico

So, best and final it is. Don't go over what you feel comfortable with. Stress (with evidence if you can supply it) your willingness and ability to complete quickly, with a few nice personal words to go with the offer. And then you've done your best, it's pretty much out of your hands.
If you don't get it, there will be other properties where you can make a good life.

jimbog

Interesting that the agent gave you the ‘heads up’, perhaps they see you a safer bet than the other buyer. Don’t over stretch yourself, perhaps run through some figures again over the weekend. Good luck!

masjntt1977

Thank you 😊 xx 

deano2099

MobileSaver said:

Gavin83 said:

Anyway technically speaking best and final isn't the end and you can offer again afterwards. ... I'd like to think most vendors wouldn't entertain such an offer. I wouldn't.

Ditto, I've been that vendor and the unsuccessful bidder was apparently rather unhappy that I wouldn't accept her revised higher offer.

Yup, if you get someone offering a "best and final" and then offering more, they're trying to game the process. Which, y'know, fair play to them. But it's not just about the ethics of it, once a sale is agreed, you know you are dealing with someone willing to game the process - be that reduce the offer late in the process, quibble for money off over the survey... it's unlikely to be a straightforward transaction. Avoiding buyers like that is absolutely what you want to be doing, and someone submitting a not final best and final offer is a great indicator of it.

RHemmings

deano2099 said:

Yup, if you get someone offering a "best and final" and then offering more, they're trying to game the process. Which, y'know, fair play to them. But it's not just about the ethics of it, once a sale is agreed, you know you are dealing with someone willing to game the process - be that reduce the offer late in the process, quibble for money off over the survey... it's unlikely to be a straightforward transaction. Avoiding buyers like that is absolutely what you want to be doing, and someone submitting a not final best and final offer is a great indicator of it.

As a buyer, I am also keeping an eye out for people who would be likely to game the process. I've read that most purchases where someone tries to change the sale price (either buyers or sellers) after the acceptance of the offer fall through. I could easily imagine myself walking away from an agreed sale before contracts are exchanged if other parties to the sale play games. 

NameUnavailable

The agent really shouldn't divulge any other offers, OK maybe saying they've already had offers over asking is OK but any more detail than that shouldn't be provided.

I went for a couple of places that were 'best and final' - in both cases after offering my 'best and final' offer I was then told that there were a number of similar offers so they would take another best and final! So that's just a dutch auction, which I didn't want to get involved in. I know one of them subsequently sold for less than I'd offered!

If I was doing this again (assuming it's an older property) I would be very tempted to offer more than I really wanted to pay, on the basis that the survey will almost certainly throw up some issues that aren't immediately apparent and you then negotiate down as one probably would with any purchase.

So, decide your maximum price and add a little more (not too much!) and see what happens!

gemma.zhang

I had luck of going through best and final 3 times with final time bought our dream house, with the same agent ! Stories of how every time we were highest still not picked 🙈.

Context: popular school catchment area with our place under offer to 1st time buyer. 

1st time - 4 ppl bidding we were the highest by 4k (so don’t round ur number just put 3 or 4k more, even 1k set u apart). Similar offers in price. 1 cash buyer, 1 same position, 1 not even on the market. They picked the 1 not on the market, turns out the buyer mum lives on the same road, talked to them etc.

2st time - 3 ppl bidding we were the 35k over asking 😠 mis read the market. 2 others same position, they picked the one offering asking price (happened to be my friend that’s why we found out about price). Mainly coz they r selling through the same agent!

3rd time - 4 ppl bidding we were the highest 30k over asking. 2 others have place to sell (not yet on the market). offer 25k over asking, They picked the lowest (asking price) as they are chain free… 

The chain free one dropped out at the end as they lost their buyers as they were trying to do separate transaction to break the chain. It’s back to us.

If it’s your dream house - Do your best with what you think it’s worthy and can afford, so that you won’t regret overpay nor missing out by 5k you won’t even remember in 20 yrs time! The rest you can only 🙏, as u just never know how it turns out. You deal with many many parties and ppl have different views and priorities. 

Good luck for tmr and pls update us…

gemma.zhang

Any updates ?