'Offers over' closing date - when to get building survey?

chameleojo

Hi,
We are first time buyers looking into buying a tenement flat in Glasgow. Its an 'offers over' repossession, on the market since April and according to the estate agent, all previous offers have been way lower than the vendor wants.

I am trying to do as much research as possible so I can go into this with a complete understanding of the buying process....one of the questions I have is about getting a building survey done. When do I commission the survey? Its an old tenement so I definitely think a full survey is required.

Do I make an expression of interest (through my conveyancer) then get the survey done? How long will I generally have to get the survey done before the closing date for offers?

Or do I get a survey before formally noting interest in case there is not enough time to get it done after (before the closing date)?

Any tips appreciated!

googler

You do realise the seller will have a Home Report which includes a survey...?

What makes you think there will be a closing date?

chameleojo

googler wrote: »

You do realise the seller will have a Home Report which includes a survey...?

What makes you think there will be a closing date?

Yeah, I've seen the HR but I was under the impression that for older properties (this one is c.1895) its advised to get a full structural survey as well. There are a couple of things we saw at the viewing (small cracks, leak from upstairs pipes) that made me think we need a more in-depth survey too.

I thought that in the Scottish system, if its 'offers over' the vendor will set a closing date for offers to be received once it has some expressions of interest. Or is this not always the case?

Thanks.

googler

chameleojo wrote: »

I thought that in the Scottish system, if its 'offers over' the vendor will set a closing date for offers to be received once it has some expressions of interest. Or is this not always the case?

They could set a closing date once there's a few Notes of Interest - in this context a Note of Interest is one expressed by your solicitor to the selling agent, not merely one expressed by you, However, setting of a closing date is not mandatory.

If you make an offer (via your solicitor) the selling agent can accept that offer without further ado. If there aren't any notes, they could well do this. If they have notes from others apart from you, they may well defer a decision on your offer until a closing date, to give others the chance to offer.

Your solicitor or you can ask the selling agent how many formal notes they have, and factor this into your strategy, whether you wait for closing to be declared, or make your offer straight off.

If you haven't hired a solicitor, do so - because you can't make a formal offer without one.