Buying a house in Scotland....how?!?!

SarahLou22

Hello!

This is the first time i've started a thread, so sorry in advance for any mis-haps!

I'm 27- moved up to Glasgow from the Midlands just over 6 months ago with work and am currently renting in the city centre close to work on George Square. The move was a short term secondment that came a a perfect time for me to get out of a rotten relationship, but I have loved it so much up here i'm hoping to settle down for the long term.

I had a property in joint names with my ex down south that is slowly coming to an end (he's buying me out). My lease is ended and i'm currently on a month by month rolling agreement so have started looking at buying. I have the following q's that I would be grateful if someone could help with (or point me in the right direction)

1. Where can I get a clear guide of how different buying in Scotland is to buying in England

2. Will I still be classed as a "first time buyer" if I've never bought up here or bought on my own?

3. Any hot tips on where to buy? (if anyone has a crystal ball.... lol!)

4. I did a search on the forum under houses, but couldnt see anything - should I post in there too?

Thanks in advance,

Sarah

Glitzkiss

1)There are guides to house buying in Scotland online (linky) although I doubt they will go into detailed comparisons between the Scottish and English system. They should be able to answer many of your questions.

2)Nowadays I don't think the FTB tag is quite so important as it once was as the mortgage market has changed dramatically. However if you have readily available funds the estate agents will probably be chasing you.

3) Glasgow isn't my area but I'm sure some locals will be along shortly with their recommendations

4) Only post on the houses board if you are brave enough to endure lots of replies calling you stupid and asking if you read the news. Seriously they can be vicious on there :eek: Having said that they do have a point. It is a falling market even up here in Scotland and unless you are looking to buy something very long term or incredibly specialist it might be an idea to rent again and keep an eye on the market.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Always_Harassed

If I was buying in Glasgow I would look at the East End. There is massive investment there for the commonwealth games and the prices will rise. Some of the areas are not so good but some are OK. Dennistoun is one area I would look at. Remember if you are looking at properties go several times at different times of day/night and days. There are a lot of good buys around just now. Speak to you colleagues and get help from them.

Lynn11

You would be best looking at the second hand market, rather than new build even though all the house builders are giving really good deals cause they are short of buyers. You can view gspc newsletters every week in banks or solicitors etc, daily mail and tuesday evening times have listings of property on the market. I gather you know the system in scotland. Fixed price - this usually goes to the first person who puts in an offer. Offers over - they usually expect you to pay 10% more than the amount on the sales particulars. Any offer you put in I would put in the offer subject to survey therefore you are able to walk away if the house does not come up to survey or reamend your offer. Please note that when you conclude missives, this is usually done quite early on and not prior to moving like in england. I would suggest that you find out the areas which are decent and start looking. Good luck and glad that you like scotland even though it is rubbish weather sometimes.

Hush-Puppy

My mum was office manager in a large Lawyers firm for many years. They also sold properties. She has herself bought many houses and has always told me that here (Edinburgh) sellers expect 20% or more over the 'offers over' price.

I'd recommend looking for a fixed price property if there are many of them about.

XX

SophieJB

Try searching on the GSPC website in different areas and you'll get an idea of the prices!

http://www.gspc.co.uk/

cdam

I moved back to scotland after 20+years and was wary of buying because of the "offers over thing". It quickly became apparent that this often didn't apply, even if the adverts said it did, in fact I actively avoided making a sealed offers over bid type offer if people stuck to this, but usually the response i had was "make me an offer", i.e. literally,right now, sometimes lower, sometimes at the offers over price an sometimes a little extra, then the solicitor can get involved, the sealed bids stuff is not worth the hassle and heartache (and expense).

Now, this is in the Highlands, so things may be different elsewhere, but don't be fooled by solicitors (glorified estate agents?) into thinking that "offers over" is a must...Give it a whirl, they can only say no.

Richard019

Hush-Puppy wrote: »

My mum was office manager in a large Lawyers firm for many years. They also sold properties. She has herself bought many houses and has always told me that here (Edinburgh) sellers expect 20% or more over the 'offers over' price.

I'd recommend looking for a fixed price property if there are many of them about.

XX

In Dunfermline 18 months or so ago the average was around 10% over. You also find it varies from one estate agent to another. I seem to remember our feeling on it being made clear to one of them after they had the cheek to send me to look at a flat that had been vastly underpriced to the point that it was on the market for the same o/o price as the flat i bought, yet went for more than 35% more than I paid for mine. (and I got mine at bang on the surveyer's valuation)

You really need to speak to your solicitor about what the average is in an area.

asandwhen

Richard019 wrote: »

In Dunfermline 18 months or so ago the average was around 10% over. You also find it varies from one estate agent to another. I seem to remember our feeling on it being made clear to one of them after they had the cheek to send me to look at a flat that had been vastly underpriced to the point that it was on the market for the same o/o price as the flat i bought, yet went for more than 35% more than I paid for mine. (and I got mine at bang on the surveyer's valuation)

You really need to speak to your solicitor about what the average is in an area.

Was the Surveyer from your mortgage company? The mortgage company only tell you the surveyers valuation up to the purchase price - if it was more they would still say it is the purchase price.

Richard019

asandwhen wrote: »

Was the Surveyer from your mortgage company? The mortgage company only tell you the surveyers valuation up to the purchase price - if it was more they would still say it is the purchase price.

No, it was arranged through my solicitors though I appreciate the point. I say it was bang on, it was actually £153 lower than my bid but I tend to automatically discount that when talking about it as I also got all my white goods included with the purchase (only missing a dishwasher, and as I'm single they're really not economical/hygienic).

Jazzy_B

I moved from England 25 years ago, and then the house buying process was very different to how it is now. Now you can make your offer, subject to survey etc. Then, your offer was legally binding at the time of the offer. Now you can stipulate some get out clauses depending on your circumstances.
Have you got a lawyer yet? They know the market really well, and give out lots of useful advice. The one we use has never charged us anything for making an offer if the sale doesn't go ahead. If there is more than one party interested, then a closing date is set, and you have to bid for the property.
A major difference now is the offer price, and having to offer over the asking price.
I don't know if any rules have changed, but three years ago, we were thinking of moving, and saved quite a bit by finding out if any surveys had been done. If they had, we contacted the surveyors, and got cheaper survey reports.
I have a friend who is an estate agent, and business has slowed considerably. They are advising sellers to seriously consider any offers.
I also have a friend who is selling, and she's had 2 offers, both of which have been under the asking price. They bought 4 years ago, spent a fortune doing it up, and have it on the market for less than they paid for it. Offering under was unheard of until recently.
I don't know what the Glasgow market is like, but would imagine it's still buoyant.
Good luck and I reckon the quality of life is much better here. We love Scotland.