What I've learned about buying with speed

9 days after viewing, we completed.

Lots of you have asked how we did it, so here I’m sharing just that, as well as how that changes my thoughts on buying in future.

First, here’s the timeline:

  • Saturday: viewed

  • Monday: 1st offer made and rejected

  • Tuesday: 2nd offer made and accepted

  • Thursday: exchanged

  • Friday: transferred the balance

  • Monday: completed

So, how did we do it? A few key factors allowed the purchase to happen so fast:

  • Auction property. This automatically came with a 28-day completion deadline.

  • Pre-auction. After a couple of fairly agonising ‘should we, shouldn’t we’ conversations we decided to secure it beforehand. For a few reasons, really:

    • We’d been looking for this kind property for a while and not seen quite the right thing

    • We felt confident in the uplift potential

    • The property had been unsold at auction before and had had some interest at viewings again. Now, you can never tell if viewings = serious interest or just nosey intrigue. It was quite possible that there would be no interest in the room, the reserve would drop and we could secure at a lower price on the day. But it was also possible that the bidding would exceed the reserve – we’ve seen a lot of post-Covid auction craziness at the moment! On balance, we knew we wanted the property so we decided to take control and get it done.

  • Searches. These were already included in the auction pack, so no need to wait on those. The water search was lacking, but a quick look on flood check and knowing the area and surroundings was enough to remove risk for our future buyer’s lender.

  • No survey. This is becoming a bit of a habit! But a good look at the walls, floors, roof, loft, DPC, brickwork, pointing, chimney, etc. and a chat with all the neighbours about the street and the building history covered enough to satisfy us. This isn’t our first rodeo, so fingers crossed! (N.B. I wouldn’t recommend this if it’s your first property – at least have a builder come round with you).  

  • Solicitor relationship. Our solicitor already had our ID, POF and deposit, having worked with us 2 months previously. So, it was just a case of getting the paperwork in place.

  • Timings negotiations. We really pushed to re-negotiate the contracted 28 day timings.

  • Cash purchase. Point 5 made the speed of a cash purchase really simple: all the AML checks were covered. And with no lender paperwork, there were no financial holdups.

As I seek to learn something new through the process of each purchase, this one certainly ticked some boxes. Here are my 5 key learnings from the process:

  1. Speed is key. Being able to move swiftly through the purchase process brings such a feeling of control, power and momentum that I’ve not experienced in a property purchase before now.

  2. Be mindful of our energy. Normally by this point I’ve spent months on finance options, bridging applications, paperwork and small print, expending so much energy getting to completion that I have to reinvigorate myself for the next, and most energy-requiring, build stage. But I feel fresh as a daisy and ready to take on the works and what comes with them. Lucky really, as I’m back to being Project Manager for this one.

  3. Cash really is king. Being able to move quickly, have that negotiating power and move forward quickly really changes the conversation.  

  4. Always negotiate. I’m kicking myself for this one. I can still hear the voice of a previous CEO of mine lead a training with this very phrase, when he actually managed to convince a room of sane professionals that a price tag on a John Lewis shelf was merely a starting point. I ‘assumed’ (what is it they say about assumption, again…?) that auction conditions still applied outside of the auction room. It turns out that that’s not true, and the 1% seller’s fees could have been part of the negotiations. I wish I’d read ‘Before the Hammer Falls’ beforehand. But, the number was calculated into our figures, the deal still stacks and I’ll know for next time.

  5. Experience is the best teacher. As the saying goes, you never forget how something or someone makes you feel. So, having learned those lessons first hand means they are so much more a part of how I will now think and operate the other side of this experience vs if I’d learned them in a classroom or a book.

Quite the counterpoint to the house that took a year to buy, let’s hope the build phase goes just as dreamily. Now it’s on to see what this build teaches me – there are a few ‘firsts’ for me coming up with the building here, too. Can’t wait to get stuck in!

This blog is published on the day of the auction. We’re spending the day ripping out and meeting builders.