Your anecdotes of how EA early access (before RightMove listing) gave you a real advantage please!

Jumblebumble

lizards said:

We've recently sold our house and are now in the process of seriously looking. Of course, there's nothing worthwhile for us to view right now, after so many possibilities last year. 

All the agents we've registered with (in person - I suspect it helps for them to put a face to a name) have said they'll give us a heads-up on stuff before it hits RightMove. But realistically, does that ever truly work out as an advantage? We're viewing in a price range where I'm guessing, despite demand, that there won't be so many viewings that we don't have the opportunity to view by the time it's on RightMove.

We recently put an offer on at asking, we were the first ones to view having phoned as soon as the offices opened when it popped up on RightMove one evening, but unsurprisingly (as it's the sensible thing to do), the vendors allowed for a week full of viewings, and then best and finals and two weeks after we made our offer, we lost out to an overseas cash buyer with money to burn.

Even with the "off-market" homes, I can't see that it helps. My mother's house sale recently fell through, and before it was relisted she had half a dozen viewers, and a cash offer at asking price. Not unreasonably, and we've recommended she do this, she's allowing more viewings over the next few days now it's on RightMove again, though cash buyer only as they'd need to beat this offer and she needs a quick transaction now.

We sold ours "off-market", we were resting it over the winter for a fresh RightMove listing in the Spring and two viewers came along and started a bidding war. We're sick of viewers, having had a dud EA fail to sell our house before (clearly our new one is much better!), so for a desperately-needed quiet life (especially as I'm having temporary health issues right now, and we have four children with SEN) we didn't bother to relist and took a reasonable but not great offer from a chain-free buyer. Maybe we could have got more if we'd hung on another month and relisted, who knows... our buyer got lucky here I think.

So I guess that's my question - I'd love to hear your stories of how registering with an EA gave you a clear advantage (besides the ability to actually get a viewing to begin with!) as I'm wondering if most likely it's a waste of time getting an early heads up and offer in if those insanely rich overseas cash buyers swoop in later anyway? How many sellers just take that first early off-market offer for a quiet life? We have to be pretty rare?

Also, any tips on what to offer if you do get in early? Offer under, asking, over? Delay the offer?

Thanks!!

It did for us in finding our forever home
We were on the pre list and sealed our deal the same day.
I bet the vendor was not pleased that they had to pay for a useless EPC which benefited no one