We investigated the effect of deposition distance on a set of otherwise identically grown Sr₂FeMoO₆ (SFMO) thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. Based on the detailed magnetic and transport measurements, we found that the optimal properties can be realized at longer deposition distances than earlier expected. The achieved onset Curie temperature of the order of 400 K with the middle transition value of 372 K, which are clearly the highest presented in the literature for the SFMO thin films. In addition, the increased metallicity and magnetoresistive response is observed in films deposited at longer distances. The improvements are widely discussed in the light of discovered stoichiometric imbalance between the cations Fe and Mo, which modify the magnetic interactions and thus magnetic and electric properties. Therefore, this study shows a new approach in the deposition process to provide the SFMO thin films and multilayers of high quality for future spin valve devices working at room temperature.