wla buying in Scotland.

wla

Here's my situation so far.

We are in the process of selling our house to our daughter with a vendor assisted deposit to help her get into the property market, all is going well and the offer will be made next week which we have already agree'd and will accept.
The easiest thing to do seemed to go with the solicitor my daughter is using to complete the transaction and i know roughly how much it will cost.

Ive looked at a few houses and am viewing some more tomorrow. My questions relate to solicitor usage.

I understand i need to have a solicitor to be able to make offers on property's so

1/ If the solicitors me and my daughter are using for this transaction handles things well should i just stay with them for self use to make offers on houses i like or shop around? I'm thinking they will all be very similar?

2/ Whatever solicitor i employ will need to charge me for the new service and what i'm wondering is how that works and what i get for my money.

Example - Everytime i see a house i like and wish to make an offer, do i have to visit the solicitor? am i charged per appointment? Would it be better to have a list of houses i like and discuss them all at the same time?
Or
Is there just a flat rate charge no matter how many houses i make offers on or how many visits i make to solicitor.

Thanks for reading.

Snippa

If they're good, I'd stick with them.

The way a decent solicitor works is that they don't charge you anything upfront. For putting in offers or notes of interest, they don't charge. They only charge once you complete basically. I guess if the case was getting complicated and they were having to do a lot of work, or if they were having to pay out anything, they'd send an interim bill. But anytime I've bought, it's just been one bill at the end of the process.

wla

So they would be able to give me a price quote now then?

googler

I understand i need to have a solicitor to be able to make offers on property's so

1/ If the solicitors me and my daughter are using for this transaction handles things well should i just stay with them for self use to make offers on houses i like or shop around? I'm thinking they will all be very similar?

If you are pleased with this solicitor, and the solicitor is well-versed in the process of property buying and selling, then yes; you should probably stay with them

2/ Whatever solicitor i employ will need to charge me for the new service and what i'm wondering is how that works and what i get for my money.

Ask them what you get for your money. They should give you a letter of engagement and outline their fees before you sign on the dotted line to hire them.

Example - Everytime i see a house i like and wish to make an offer, do i have to visit the solicitor? am i charged per appointment? Would it be better to have a list of houses i like and discuss them all at the same time?
Or
Is there just a flat rate charge no matter how many houses i make offers on or how many visits i make to solicitor.

Again, this will vary from solicitor to solicitor - some will let you make multiple offers at no charge until you make a successful offer, others will charge you by the hour and by each activity. Talk to them first, and ask what they do in terms of charging structure.

You should be able to tell your solicitor to draft an offer on your behalf over the phone - typically the salient points are - price, date of entry, and whether or not subject to survey.

They'll be unlikely to tender multiple offers on your behalf at the same time - if more than one gets accepted, do you really want to buy two or more houses?

wla

Hi Googler
But i'm not commited to buying a house on an offer am I?

I just feel if i like a few then there's no harm putting in offers on them all to see what comes back, is there?

My daughter would not make me leave here in any hurry but i'd like to go at the date ive given her, the thought of us living together again for even a short time is a bit alarming to both of us lol

googler

The solicitor you choose may see it differently, depending on how serious (or flippant) they think you are about buying.

By the strict letter of the law, once you've made a formal offer, and the seller via their solicitor have accepted it, you've made a contract - and if you withdraw from that contract, there's a possibility of the seller looking to recover their expenses and outlays from you. Rare in practice, but....

There's nothing to stop you and your solicitor discussing with a seller and their solicitor how much you might offer, and other terms, and you could do this with multiple sellers, but you're unlikely to get your solicitor to tender a second formal offer for you in writing until the first has been formally accepted or declined. My ref to multiple offers in the previous post was in the sense of 'offer once, get accept/decline. If declined, offer on another, get accept/decline. If declined, offer on another, get accept/decline.' - not in the sense of Offer on prop 1, offer on prop 2, offer on prop 3 - then wait for accept/decline

CloudCuckooLand

http://www.hastingslegal.co.uk/Legal%20Services/buying.html seems a pretty good description of the Scottish system...

googler

CloudCuckooLand wrote: »

http://www.hastingslegal.co.uk/Legal%20Services/buying.html seems a pretty good description of the Scottish system...

That would seem to save me any more typing....

wla

Thank you both very much, that link is very helpful.

Of the three properties we viewed today, i loved house one and my husband loved house 2, the only thing we both agree'd on was our dislike of the third house.