Property editor Caroline Culot went to see Scarning Old Rectory for sale by auction with Brown & Co for a guide price of £495,000-£525,000.

This handome, if a little tired, large Victorian rectory is a fantastic example of the benefits of buying at auction.

We all know the emotional stress which can be caused by moving house and sometimes a long wait to exchange and finally then to completion along with all the fears of people pulling out and chains collapsing.

The beauty of buying at auction is the speed of the process. If you take this period rectory, it is coming up for sale in the Brown & Co auction on March 22 and if it sells on the day, when the hammer falls, that is it, you have exchanged. You pay 10pc of the sale price as well as an administration fee of £350 plus VAT on the day and the rectory is yours with completion taking place 28 days afterwards.

So, by the end of April you could be moving in with the rest of spring and summer to look forward to when you can work on getting the property into shape.

You do need to ensure you have had a survey done before the auction and of course, instructed a solicitor and have your funds in place.

That done, the process is really extremely straightforward and the experts tell me at Brown & Co that if you do instruct a very proactive solicitor, you could aim to push the completion through earlier on buy to let properties which would save you thousands in the extra stamp duty surcharge.

I think it's unlikely that this house will be purchased as an investment or second home; I went to see it and it really does offer someone a wonderful opportunity to own a large country home ideal for a big family.

It does need some work doing to it; a new kitchen and bathrooms/en suites as well as some new replacement windows in the front bay but essentially, it's perfectly adequate to live in as you do it up as there do not seem to be any obvious horror stories. A survey will obviously tell you if there are.

There is a very wide and quite grand entrance hall with the original staircase sweeping up and off this are the principal reception rooms including a formal dining room and a ballet room complete with mirrors and a bar.

Over two floors are seven bedrooms including studio rooms on the top floor which would be ideal for anyone with a creative hobby. But this is a house which needs children running around it and there's plenty of room to do it.

Outside there is an old stable block which could be converted into an annexe and land of 1.2 acres backing onto open farmland.

It would suit anyone moving into mid Norfolk relocating for a job but who wants to live the country life without paying north Norfolk property prices and perhaps a couple who fancy a bit of a property project and who may be planning a family.

Peter Hornor, auctioneer and chartered surveyor at Brown & Co, who will be selling this house, said: 'This offers an opportunity to own a period rectory next to the church and yet the beauty of buying it at auction is that at the fall of the hammer, you have exchanged and you then complete 28 days later. So an auction makes things happen. The vendors are keen to put the property behind them and move on.'

• Scarning Old Rectory is for sale by auction for £495,000-£525,000 with Brown & Co on March 22. Contact them on 01603 629871 for more details.