How to buy an investment property in a hurry

Back in 2014, when speed was of the essence where London property purchases were concerned, Mr and Mrs Baxter who were based in Dubai asked us to find them an investment property in Kensington or Chelsea. Their budget was around £2m, and they wanted a property that had the potential for good capital growth while delivering a safe and regular rental income.

Our recommendation was for a first floor period flat in a prime location, ideally on a garden square. In the uncompromising sellers’ market that existed in 2014, properties of this kind were flying off the shelves. Successful purchasers needed to act incredibly quickly, while understanding how to be competitive in such an aggressive market.

We found the Baxters the perfect property, but having viewed it, fresh on the market, on the Wednesday, by Thursday there were numerous interested parties and four offers on the table. By Thursday evening we had sent a full report to our clients along with photographs and a video walk-through. They agreed we should put in an offer, get a full survey done on the Friday, and offer to conduct an attended exchange* on the following Monday.

We arranged for the survey to be carried out on the Friday, and the Baxters flew in from Dubai on the Saturday. They arrived in the morning, took a taxi to Chelsea where we met them and viewed the property, they took the same taxi back to Heathrow, and flew out that evening on the same plane they had arrived on. In total they spent two hours in London, long enough to agree that we should go ahead with the purchase.

The vendors accepted our clients offer on the basis of exchanging by the end of Monday, and the deal was successfully concluded under what many would have found to be challenging circumstances!

*An attended exchange is when the solicitors for both parties sit down together and work on the deal until it is done.