Home goes from offer to exchange in under 5 hours

Contracts have been exchanged on a £1.2m property within five hours of the offer being accepted.

The property, in Edinburgh, went under offer on February 11 and missives were concluded in less than five hours that same day by a firm of solicitors which achieved a similar turnaround on a second property.

Richard Loudon, of Simpson & Marwick, acting for the seller, said a Combined Standard Clauses – a template used by most solicitor estate agents – meant it was possible to move quickly.

The buyer’s solicitor was Philip Valente, of VMH Solicitors, who said: “Once an offer has been verbally accepted it is in the interests of all involved to have the missives concluded as soon as possible to bring certainty to the deal.

“With the advent of Home Report,  the purchaser has a detailed survey, valuation and information on the property to hand, which means we can move immediately to tie up the contract without delays.”

In Scotland, many solicitors are also estate agents, while Home Reports were brought in just over a year ago as the Scottish answer to Home Information Packs. Unlike HIPs, they contain a survey and a valuation.

So, two questions.

Did Scotland get their Home Reports rights when the general concensus, even among HIP providers, is that England and Wales got it wrong?

And can anyone south of the border beat five hours to exchange?