Buying a home in Scotland

Scottish Home Buyer's Guide

In Scotland the fear of paying substantial compensation to a vendor if they pull out of a house buying deal is what keeps their system quicker and fairer than it is in England.

It is essential, when you make an offer on a property, that you have already taken sound legal advice and have sorted out the finances to pay the purchase price. This means that you must have a lender lined up who will provide you with the funds and also be prepared to lend you the amount needed to buy the property you are interested in. You will also need to make sure that you have enough funds to cover all the other expenses involved.

Once a property has been chosen you will let your solicitor know that you are interested and be given the opportunity to put in an offer. If more than one person is putting in an offer then the seller will have fixed a closing date for them. No one knows what the other offers are and the seller is under no obligation to accept the highest.

If the offer is accepted in principal then the solicitor acting for both parties will agree the formal terms of the contract over a short period. The seller normally produces a property enquiry certificate which covers matters such as planning, statutory repair notices and roads.

You will need to have paid for the valuation of a property this will be before an offer needs to be accepted by the vendor, so the downside is you will be out of pocket if you decide not to buy or the vendor refuses your offer.

Generally, the date of completion is around five weeks after the contract has been completed.

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