Seen House I like - what now? (Scotland)

GlynD

HouseBuyer1 wrote: »

Yeh I work in the City Centre as well so I think it would be handy having someone nearer. If you dont mind me asking, how long did it take you from contacting a solicitor to getting a formal offer in for consideration?

Yeh I think thats the main benefit I have seen anyway. It's just quite overwhelming.

Also what happens if I then get a solicitor and the property ends up being sold to someone else etc. before we make an offer? Or if our offer isnt enough? Isnt this a downside of the system as you effectively still have to pay a fee just to be in a position to make an offer?

It only takes as long as it takes to have your mortgage approved and that's down to the individual finance houses. Unfortunately it could lead to you losing the property if the closing date isn't very long.

If my memory serves me right you don't pay any solicitors fees for missed opportunities. Of course that may just have been my man. Worthwhile checking that with the one you pick.

My advice though: talk to a solicitor today and get advice on a financial representative.

HouseBuyer1

Your a star mate, has definitely giving me better perspective on how I can proceed now. Asking around some friends now to see who they bought with to see if theres was any good and worth giving a shout.

Thanks again

GlynD

You're very welcome again. I don't think I've ever come across a bad conveyancing solicitor in Scotland but they are more expensive than elsewhere. The posher the firm the more they charge. Might be an idea to put your work postcode in the "solcitor search" on the Glasgow Solicitors' Property page and see what the handiest one is for you in town. I agree, it would make life so much easier if you could just nip down the street to see them.

kidmugsy

When I last bought in Scotland the solicitor (who had been excellent) apologised for having to charge the firm's standard rate for what was a straightforward job, so he threw in free wills for us both. Geeze, it's a far better system that the English one - decisive, conclusive, quick and (in my experience) cheaper.

scottishgirl87

I'm in Scotland and have just had an offer accepted on a property. The way that I did it was...

- Spoke to a broker before we even started looking at places. This gave us a mortgage Decision in Principle which told us how much we could likely borrow.
- Spoke to a couple of solicitors to find out what their fees were. Luckily my work provide a discounted solicitor as a staff benefit so we went with them as they gave a good price and were helpful.
- Submitted offer via solicitor.
- Once offer was accepted I then went back to broker to start the mortgage application process.

nineteenseventyseven

You don't need to have a mortgage agreement prior to offering. An agreement in principal is wise. Your offer does not mean you are obliged to buy a property. You need to contact a convayancing solicitor who will advise. This will likely be a note of interest initially. If a closing date is set for the property, the sellers solicitor will inform your solicitor. The sellers can accept any offer at any time which they wish.

You could place an offer immediately subject to a number of factors - eg subject to satisfactory survey or finance. Only once missives are complete are you committed to the purchase. Missives are essentially the clauses and conditions relating to the sale / purchase. If certain aspects of this are not satisfactory for buyer or vendor, either can withdraw. For instance, until your solicitor examines the deeds and performs searches they or you will be unaware of any legal restrictions or ownership issues with the property. As long as you are honest and upfront, the system works well.

HouseBuyer1

OKAY Brilliant - thank you all so much for your input.

I guess the next question I have then relates to the way a solicitor effectively acts as a broker also?

So whilst I will go to them for initial advice in the buying process, perhaps what to offer etc. and they will notify my interest, make offers on my behalf and conduct the legal stuff.

What is there involvement in actually securing a mortgage then? Will they act as a broker and basically tell me who would be most likely to accept me based on my circumstances etc. and then aid that application? Or would you still use an independant broker yourself to do this?

googler

Some good advice in this thread along with some absolute howlers.

OP: You CAN offer on a property without any mortgage deal in place, just make sure your solicitor puts in the offer that it is subject to you obtaining suitable finance. However, the downside to this is that if you're offering in competition with others, if they're ready to go and you're not, you may find the seller giving preference to the others.

"Once an offer is accepted verbally in Scotland you are obliged to buy."

No, that's once the missives are concluded.

OP: you need to ask the seller's agent for the Home Report for the property, or get your solicitor to do so. This will have a summary of a survey carried out on the property, and a valuation, and should suffice as your survey for lending purposes - i.e. you or your solicitor pass it to your mortgage company for them to determine whether they'll honour any mort agreement in principle, and how much they'll lend you based on that figure. Don't even THINK of getting your own survey done without first determining whether or not you and your lender accept the Home Report.

"The only thing you'll really find odd is the lack of a written contract. The contract is called "exchanging missives" and that is done verbally."

Absolutely wrong. The offer letter is the beginning of the exchange of missives between solicitors, and that's in writing. All communication which forms part of the contract will be done in writing between solicitors by letter (missive), and the final exchange of letters, where the two agree that the deal is done, is termed 'conclusion of missives' - that's the point at which, you, OP, will be committed to the purchase.

"Also what happens if I then get a solicitor and the property ends up being sold to someone else etc. before we make an offer? Or if our offer isnt enough? Isnt this a downside of the system as you effectively still have to pay a fee just to be in a position to make an offer?"

That depends on the solicitor you pick - many will make a selling point of not charging for failed offers, but the general decent thing to do, if you do fail at your first property, is to retain the same solicitor to act for you when you attempt to buy your second.....

HouseBuyer1

Thanks very much for taking the time to write that lengthy response googler, very useful.

Whilst the Scottish system seems to offer a bit more protection to be honest I am finding it a bit harder to grasp, and also that there is less widely available straight forward information about the order things should be done, the full roles of those involved etc.

In regards to the home buyer report, I have been told by the EA this will be emailed to me first thing tomorrow. I also plan to start checking out some solicitors tomorrow to get some advise, as I believe the one across the road from my work gives you a free consultation and quote which could be useful.

Thanks again

googler

HouseBuyer1 wrote: »

..... also that there is less widely available straight forward information about the order things should be done, the full roles of those involved etc.

Where have you been looking, and what have you been looking for in google search terms?