Buying and selling (Scotland) – what’s the process.

jennifernil

kixxb wrote: »

The did say that if we could demonstrate that we could afford the new property without selling our current home then they could take a reservation - which we probably could actually but would prefer to get our property sold first.

If your existing property is a good letting subject and has a reasonable amount of equity in it, then you could remortgage it on a BTL deal to release the deposit for your new house, and rent out your existing property.

Becoming a landlord is not to be entered into lightly however, the figures would need to stack up.

You seem to have 3 options, sell yourselves now, take advantage of the builder's easy move deal if you have problems, or decide to rent out your current property.

bluffer

Pixie5740 wrote: »

I.

Buying and selling in Scotland is really nothing like in England even though a few EA have said to me, "Oh good, your chain free, you're in a strong position." Sigh, they've been watching too much Location, Location, Location.

i think what they really mean is that the missives have concluded ( or just about to ) or are a first time buyer instead of waiting for a buyer. its lazy and not a direct translation but i reckon most people would know its a good thing.


here is the full process http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1125/0083346.pdf

kixxb

Thanks for the input/advice - last nights viewers have put in a formal offer for a price that we are happy with but obviously have to sell their property.

We have verbally accepted but will obviously be keen to conclude missives asap - they've asked for 6 weeks to allow them to sell their property and seem serious with an appointment with the EA and mortgage adviser arranged - we are however still allowed to keep the house on the market as for sale - buyer has accepted the risk of us getting a better offer and them losing the property. Fingers crossed for either a quick conclusion to the missives/quick sale for them or another buyer in a better position.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

kixxb wrote: »

We have verbally accepted but will obviously be keen to conclude missives asap - they've asked for 6 weeks to allow them to sell their property and seem serious with an appointment with the EA and mortgage adviser arranged - we are however still allowed to keep the house on the market as for sale - buyer has accepted the risk of us getting a better offer and them losing the property. Fingers crossed for either a quick conclusion to the missives/quick sale for them or another buyer in a better position.

Eh?

Why on earth would you agree to such a thing?

They should offer, you should accept, you both should exchange missives with an agreed entry date.

End of story.

Their ability to sell their house is not your problem. They should have sold it before looking if they weren't in a position to buy first and then sell.

That rubbish about keeping it on the market and them needing to see an EA sounds suspiciously like the absolutely atrocious English way of doing things.

Complete nonsense.

kixxb

They aren't in a position to exchange missives though as they've got a property to sell. We will be pushing for missives to be signed quickly but I don't think they are in a position to do so hence why we will still have our property up for sale until they can sign on to a date to conclude the missives.

They are speaking to the EA to put their house on the market immediately - this is what people used to do all the time before the market changed - find a house you liked, put an offer on it and then sell your own. Not our ideal buyer but a buyer none the less??

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

kixxb wrote: »

They are speaking to the EA to put their house on the market immediately -

That frankly sounds bizarre to me.

Their ability to sell their house is not and should not be your problem.

They should have sold it before even looking, let alone offering, if they weren't in a position to buy first and then sell.

The beauty of the Scottish system is that all these awful English ways of doing things are left at the border.

People buy and sell with integrity.

Time wasters, wannabes and those not in a position to proceed should be told to jog on.

kixxb

Thanks for your comments. I'm going to chat it through with the solicitor. Basically, they really, really want the property but have been honest that they are not in the ideal position to buy but are showing they are serious by submitted the formal offer within 24 hours of viewing, offering a good price, putting their house on the market immediately and arranging to port their mortgage.

Our verbal acceptance was based on the value of the offer alone and I have advised our EA that we will discuss with our solicitor before responding. In this instance, is it better to accept with the condition that missives are signed by a set date and if they don't agree to this then the offer is revoked/void and they then have to resubmit another offer if they do have a change in circumstances?

It is a strange arrangement, initially they had asked if we would list the house as under offer for 6 weeks to allow them to sort their position - we refused so really now what we have is an offer from a seller who probably won't sign the missives quickly although we are willing to set a late exchange date of anytime between Aug to October (that suits us as new build won't be ready til the end of the year).

This is our first time selling and it's not as straightforward as we were hoping and I want to ensure I've got a clear view on how best to proceed!

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

kixxb wrote: »

I have advised our EA that we will discuss with our solicitor before responding.

Oh dear...

You're selling through an EA and not your solicitor?

No wonder you're being messed about.:(

In this instance, is it better to accept with the condition that missives are signed by a set date and if they don't agree to this then the offer is revoked/void and they then have to resubmit another offer if they do have a change in circumstances?

I think you don't really understand the Scottish system, albeit, probably you're getting bad advice if you're going through an EA instead of a solicitor.

In Scotland, the way it works is if someone offers on your home they do it formally through solicitors and that offer is the start of the missives process.

The offer should contain a price and a proposed entry date, and missives are generally concluded very quickly.

I wouldn't dream of entertaining some chancer who wasn't in a position to proceed, and neither would any respectable solicitor.

We have a system of buying and selling houses that has integrity, honesty and decency.

Where offers are binding, and disgraceful English phenomenon like gazumping, gazundering, and pulling out of deals are simply not tolerated.

Indeed, solicitors can be struck off for knowingly entertaining such things.

It is a strange arrangement,

Aye....

And that's not good.

so really now what we have is an offer from a seller who probably won't sign the missives quickly

No, no, no.

You don't have an offer at all in that case.

If you did the missives would be underway.

What you have is a chancer saying they might buy your house if they sell their own at some point in the future.

That's not an offer in Scotland, and should not be remotely entertained as such.

This is our first time selling and it's not as straightforward as we were hoping and I want to ensure I've got a clear view on how best to proceed!

It really is straightforward.

A legitimate offer in Scotland is done through solicitors, as the initial part of the missives, and missives are concluded in short order with an agreed entry date.

You don't have an offer if that hasn't been done.

You have a chancer talking it up.

Steer clear and wait for an actual offer.

Which may or may not be from the person you're currently talking to.

kirstypark

speak to your solicitor - he will be charging you a large sum of money at the end of all this, so get your money's worth from him. His job is to look after your interests in this process - not the estate agent or the buyers who will have other agendas. If your house has only been on the market for a few days it may be too early to accept an offer. Is it a verbal offer or a note of interest you have got?

Offers should be made to the solicitor, not the EA or verbally to you. You might get a few more interested viewers this week who could all offer or put in notes of interest.

kixxb

We marketed via an ea but have our own independant solicitor - not the one the ea recommended.

Initial offer was verbally - ea phoned to say viewer loved the house, wants to make an offer but has to sell their property and would we consider putting house under offer for 6 weeks to give them time to get sorted. We said no as we'd lose out marketing time.

Ea phoned again to say they could keep it flagged as for sale and to all intents and purposes it would be but we'd have a offer on the table but if a better one came along we'd be in a position to accept it.

Buyers offer is now formally submitted and has been passed to our solicitor. Hoping to speak to him early next week to discuss the details of the offer and our response.

House been on market for just under 4 weeks and this was first viewer.