Buying property in Scotland
How do I buy a property in Scotland?
The process involved in buying a property in Scotland is very different to that of the system employed in England and Wales. The Scottish system is actually deemed more efficient, less time consuming and less subject to gazumping and gazundering.
How do I find a property in Scotland?
There is a number of ways in which someone could find a property to buy:-
- Using estate agents or solicitors’ property departments
- Visiting the local solicitors’ property centre
- Looking at property pages in local newspapers
- Contacting house building companies for details of new properties being built in the area.
Deciding on a property
When you find a property you are interested in you should arrange to look round it to make sure it is what you want and to check as far as possible on the state of repair. You will need to get some idea of whether or not you will have to spend any additional money on the property, for example, on repairs or decoration. It is common for a potential buyer to visit a property two or three times before deciding to make an offer.
What kind of offer should I make?
An Unconditional offer
- It is normal practice for the buyer to arrange a mortgage and find out as much as possible about the house before making an offer. The offer specifies the price to be paid. Although this is called an ‘unconditional’ offer, it contains a number of standard conditions. You should not make an unconditional offer without having a survey carried out. You should also arrange a mortgage before making any kind of offer for the house.
A Conditional offer
- Making an unconditional offer can take time and means that you will have to pay for a survey. You may be able to avoid this by making a conditional offer. The conditional offer specifies the price to be paid but makes this subject to the buyer receiving a satisfactory survey.
- The seller will rarely accept a conditional offer but may indicate that s/he will accept the offer if the ‘subject to survey’ condition is withdrawn. The buyer would then have to get the property surveyed very quickly.
- A seller will almost always prefer an unconditional offer. If the house is advertised at a fixed price there is little to be gained by making a conditional offer.
Making an offer
- If you make an offer for a house it may be accepted. Once there is a binding contract, the buyer cannot withdraw from the contract without becoming liable for compensation. Even if the buyer or seller dies and sometimes even if the house burns down, the agreed price must be paid.
- If the house is advertised at a Fixed Price this means that the seller is willing to accept the first firm offer at the price specified. The price is likely to be on the high side as it is the highest figure the seller thinks the house will fetch. The buyer should not feel obliged to offer the amount specified if the survey of the house shows that a lot of repairs are needed or if the house has been on the market for a long time.
- If the house is advertised at an Upset or ‘offers over’ price this means the figure specified is the minimum the seller would be willing to accept. The seller will normally wait until a number of people have expressed an interest in making an offer and then announce a closing date. Sealed offers are submitted on that date and the seller chooses the best one. You will have to decide how much to offer based on the value of the property to you and the top price which you can afford to pay. The surveyor’s valuation will provide some guidance on this but you should also take into account the amount of interest in the property, the amount of repair the house needs and the current trend in house prices.
Acceptance of offer
- If you have made an unconditional offer for the house this will normally be accepted or rejected by the seller straight away. An acceptance may be completely unconditional, in which case there will be a binding contract immediately. Usually, however, the acceptance will contain a number of conditions and there will be no binding contract until all of those conditions have been accepted by your solicitor.
Completion
- After a binding contract has been agreed, called ‘concluding Missives’, your solicitor will complete the conveyancing procedures and prepare a number of documents, particularly a ‘disposition’ which will transfer ownership of the house to you.The contract or Missives will specify the date of entry to the property. This is the date on which you will have to pay the seller the purchase price of the property in return for the Disposition and the keys to the property. Your solicitor will make all the arrangements for settling the transaction on the date of entry and for completing the buyer’s loan at the same time. This is called ‘completion’ of the purchase
Read more from The Scottish Citizen advices bureau. If you are looking for a property in Scotland, try the property search on The Scotsman website
