Is Your Purchase Offer Your Highest and Best?

It’s been another very busy week at the iDeal REP office, and we’re very grateful so many of you have trusted us with your real estate needs. We certainly aren’t the only professionals that have been busy, and that’s very evident by the continued lack of inventory on the market. What properties are available are moving quickly, most times with multiple buyers vying for the same opportunity.

With that comes a sometimes frustrating development to both buyers and agents. The multiple offer situation can lead to the dreaded call for highest and best offers. Some of our clients have been confused by the concept of highest and best, although it is just what the name implies. The call for highest and best offers is when the seller has received multiple offers and instead of accepting or countering one of those offers, they alert all who submitted offers and ask them all to submit their highest and best offers. In some cases this causes quite a bit of consternation on the part of the buyers and their agents.

Most of the time this event occurs when attempting to purchase a bank-owned property, although you might be asked to submit highest and best offers on any property for which you make an offer. One of the questions we get asked often is if there’s any way to know how many other offers might have been submitted. We’re even asked if there’s any way to know if there were any other offers submitted at all. While there’s no way to know, and certainly the seller is under no obligation to offer that information, we like to think that honesty prevails and there are in fact multiple offers in contention.

What do you do in the event you’re asked for your highest and best offer? There are several options. You could choose to revise your offer and resubmit with a higher price. You might also reduce the amount of closing costs you’ve requested be paid on your behalf by the seller. Maybe you could remove some or all of your special stipulations. Of course, you could always leave your offer as it was originally. The main goal is to present an offer with which you’re most comfortable and still attempt to compete. Your agent should be willing and able to assist you in making the decision about the course of action you might take.

You could present your highest and best offer and it still won’t meet the net the seller requires and therefore your offer won’t be chosen. Keep in mind, in this circumstance, there isn’t likely anything you could have done differently and you should move forward without regret. Your home is out there and with help from your agent you’ll find it, even if you have to jump a few hurdles to get there.

-iDeal Real Estate Professionals, LLC is owned and operated by Brandon Bramlett and C. Mark Willix and is affiliated with Maximum One Realty Greater Atlanta. For personalized service visit us at www.idealrealestateprofessionals.com. You can also email us at info@idealrealestateprofessionals.com.