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Who
sells houses in Scotland?
We have traditional estate agents but also you will find that solicitors
frequently also act as estate agents. In many areas solicitors have
formed a Solicitors' Property Centre where you will be able to see
under one roof a large selection of property being sold through
local solicitors. The Highland Solicitors Property Centre covers
Inverness and the Highlands of Scotland. The Centre's excellent
website can be found at www.hspc.co.uk.
Although most sellers engage the services of a solicitor estate
agent or traditional estate agent some sellers will sell privately
by advertising in a local newspaper and/or on the internet.
What
happens when I see a house I like?
If you don't want to miss out on the chance to offer you should
instruct a firm of Scottish solicitors to act for you and "note
your interest" in the property with the selling agent. A note of
interest does not oblige you to make an offer so you are not committing
yourself in any way. It simply indicates that you are interested
in the property and wish to be told if a "closing date" for offers
is set. If the house is being sold privately it is not always possible
to note interest.
What
is a closing date?
If more than one party is seriously interested offering for a property
the seller's agents may set a "closing date" for offers. A closing
date is an invitation to prospective purchasers to submit their
best offer to the selling agent by a certain time on a certain date.
Once a closing date has been set a seller will not normally consider
offers received in advance of the closing date. As the offer must
be in the correct legal format a Scottish solicitor should prepare
the offer. Normally the seller will accept the highest offer but
is not bound to do so. There may also be other deciding factors
besides the price being offered such as the proposed date of entry.
Is a
closing date for offers always set?
A seller is not legally bound to set a closing date and even although
there are several "notes of interest" a seller may accept an attractive
offer without setting a closing date. When the housing market is
buoyant closing dates are more common than when the housing market
is less active. If a closing date is set you will need to have done
all your homework on the house before you make your offer. You must
also ensure that you have finance available to pay for it if your
offer is successful. Normally you should also have had the property
surveyed as in many areas of Scotland an offer subject to survey"
is unlikely to be acceptable at a closing date even if the is the
highest offer.
What
happens if a closing date has not been set?
IIf we are acting for you we will normally ascertain when we note
interest for you whether there is likely to be a closing date. We
will then discuss with you whether you should make an immediate
offer. It may be that making an offer "subject to survey" would
be appropriate at this stage.
What
does "Offers over" mean?
It means that there is no fixed price for the property. The price
over which offers are sought is the "upset price". The upset price
can often being considerably lower than the actual sale price depending
on where the house is and how active the market is. If the property
is marketed at a "fixed price" normally the first "clean" offer
secures the property. A "clean" offer is generally regarded as one
which is not subject to survey or other matters over which the seller
has no control.
Do I
need to have a survey?
Buying a house is probably one of the biggest purchases you will
make. You should always have the house inspected by a professional
surveyor before committing yourself to purchase. A survey will give
you an independent valuation and will also tell you about the condition
of the property.
There are
legislative changes planned whereby a seller will have to have the
property surveyed before marketing it for sale. This survey will
be then be available for the purchaser to see. However, this legislation
is not yet in force so it remains the responsibility of the purchaser
to arrange his own survey. If we are acting for you we can arrange
the survey for you.
What
financial arrangements do I have to make before I can submit an
offer?
In Scotland it is possible for your offer to lead to a legally binding
contract very quickly after the offer is submitted without further
involvement by you. It is therefore essential that at the time you
make the offer you have your financial arrangements in place for
funding the purchase should your offer be successful. If you to
sell an existing property to pay for your new property you will
not be able to withdraw from the purchase contract if you can not
sell your existing property. Purchasers who have property to sell
in England should normally wait until they have exchanged contracts
for the sale of their English property before submitting an offer
for a property in Scotland.
I am
ready to make my offer. What do I do next?
You will require a Scottish solicitor to submit a written offer
in the proper legal Scottish format for you. A verbal offer is not
legally binding. The written offer will contain details of the price
being offered, the proposed date of entry (the Scottish equivalent
of an English "completion date"), a list of what is included in
the price, clauses about the condition of the property, the title
and various other matters for the general protection of the purchaser.
If my
offer is acceptable when must I sign the contract?
In Scotland, unlike in England, there is no one contract document
signed by both purchaser and seller. The contract is made up of
a series of formal letters passing between the solicitor acting
for the purchaser and the seller. These formal letters are called
"missives" and will be signed by the solicitor on behalf of their
client. The first missive will be the formal offer for the property.
If the offer is to be accepted the solicitor acting for the seller
will then issue a missive in the form of an acceptance. If all of
the terms of the offer are acceptable without any qualification
on behalf of the seller the acceptance will be an outright or unqualified
acceptance. If the seller's solicitor issues an unqualified acceptance
the contract becomes legally binding between purchaser and seller
as soon as the unqualified acceptance is issued. This is why it
is very important for a purchaser to have done their homework and
have their finance in place at the time they make their offer.
More usually
a seller will wish to introduce conditions into the sale in which
case his solicitor will issue a "qualified acceptance ". This means
that the offer is accepted subject to the qualifications contained
in the seller's acceptance. The contract is not binding at this
stage as such qualifications, if acceptable to the purchaser, will
have to be accepted in a missive on behalf of the purchaser. Once
this is done the bargain is legally binding or, in legal speak,
the missives are said to be "concluded". Sometimes more missives
pass between the solicitors for the purchaser and seller before
everything is agreed and missives are concluded.
There is
no set time period for concluding missives. Sometimes missives are
concluded on the day the offer is made but more usually the process
can take between one or two weeks and sometimes longer if matters
are complex.
What
happens after missives have been concluded?
Your solicitor will finalise the legal work for the transfer of
a valid title into your name. This involves examining the titles,
drawing up the new title deed transferring the property into your
name, checking deeds containing conditions of title, examining Searches,
liaising with you regarding the transfer of funds, completing an
Inland Revenue Stamp Duty Land Tax Return and dealing with many
other tasks which have to be completed before the date of entry.
Will
I need to sign anything?
If you are taking out a mortgage for the purchase of the property
there will be one or more documents for you to sign to give your
lender a legal security over the house. Depending on your marital
status one of the security documents may have to be sworn by you
on oath before a suitably qualified person. There will also be a
Stamp Duty Land Tax form for you to sign even if there is no Stamp
Duty Land Tax payable.
What
happens on the date of entry?
The date of entry is the day when the solicitor acting for the purchaser
makes payment to the solicitor acting for the seller. In exchange
the keys will be released so the purchaser can move in and the signed
documents of transfer will be handed to the purchaser's solicitor.
The date of entry normally is several weeks after the offer has
been submitted to allow for the conveyancing formalities and the
funding/mortgage arrangements to be finalised.
Can my
date of entry be the same day as the completion date for my sale
in England?
As the solicitor acting for a purchaser must have cleared funds
to pay for the new house this will depend on whether funds can be
transferred from the selling solicitor in time. Your Scottish and
English solicitors will normally discuss whether this can be achieved.
What
happens after the date of entry?
The solicitor's work does not finish on the date of entry. The purchaser's
solicitor will require to lodge the Stamp Duty Land Tax Return to
the Inland Revenue and pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax due on the transaction.
He then requires to register the title deeds at Register House in
Edinburgh. Once Register House has registered the title they will
issue a Land Certificate which is shows the extent of the property,
any rights pertaining to the property and also the conditions of
title.
What
formalities do I need to go through before I can instruct a Scottish
solicitor?
If you would like to instruct us ideally we like to meet our clients
but this is not always essential. We can take instructions by telephone
but may ask for these to be confirmed in writing. We can also take
instructions by email. We are obliged by law to see certain types
of identification for new clients. We may also require detailed
information about your funding arrangements.
How much
will this all cost?
We will give you a written quotation of costs at the outset of the
transaction. This will also show outlays which we have to incur
for you. The standard outlays are the Stamp Duty Land Tax and Register
House dues. Stamp Duty Land Tax is currently charged at 1% on purchases
between £120,000 and £250,000, 3% on property between £250,000 and
£500,000, 4% above that. Register House dues are charged by Register
House on a sliding scale increasing with the value of the property
and any security. You will also require to budget for survey costs.
Can a
Purchaser and Seller use the same solicitor to keep costs down?
Scottish solicitors are governed by the Law Society of Scotland.
The Law Society of Scotland does not allow the same solicitor or
firm of solicitors to act for both a purchaser and seller except
in some special circumstances.
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