“Highest & Best,” Defined
One of the more anguished — and fruitless — laments uttered by Buyers who just heard they lost in multiple offers is: “But, I would’ve gone higher!”
Then, they should have.
The way “highest & best” works is . . . pretty much how you’d think.
One round, highest and best vs., say, an auction, where the bidding keeps rising until only one Buyer is left standing (or solvent).
Different Than an Auction
While a Seller adhering to “highest & best” rules may ultimately negotiate improvements to the most attractive of the proffered offers, they’ll pick just one offer to work with — and reject the rest.
No round #2, no chance to up your bid.
Which means Buyers truly need to come in with their best number, first.
Which in turn is why Sellers (at least in Minnesota) very much like this format.
See also, “Prospective Home Buyer: ‘The House I Want is in Multiples; What Should I Offer?'”; “Once Bitten, Twice Shy? Not in the Housing Market“; and “The Consequences of ‘Highest & Best’ in Multiple Offers, or, Would Coulda Shoulda.”
