Buying in Scotland, Selling in England

rich3245

Hi,

I am moving from Scotland to England through work and have accepted an offer on my house in England. My buyer is selling to a first time buyer, but we are only in the very early stages of the process.

I am hoping to buy in Scotland (renting is another option, but I am finding the rental market is very sparse in the area where I need to live) but I have realised that the difference in process between the Scottish and England house buying systems makes this more difficult than selling and buying in one country.

Am I correct that;

1. I will be a less favourable buyer (compared to someone selling in Scotland) to most vendors in Scotland because I am selling in England and therefore do not have a contract with my buyer until 'Exchange of contracts' further down the line?

2. If I did make an offer in Scotland and it was accepted, then if my buyer (or their buyer) failed to complete and in turn I was unable to complete on the purchase, then I would be sued by the seller of the Scottish house?

If so, what are my options? Are there conveyancers in England who could offer a 'Scotland style' sale whereby my buyer was tied in to a contract at an early stage. Of course this would depend on my buyer being willing to do this.

Are bridging loans available in case the Scottish purchase completes but the English sale doesn't? Bearing in mind this would need to be a pretty hefty loan, perhaps £100-150k (obviously depending on the value of the house we buy).

I realise that I could move into rental for a period, but I would like to avoid that option if possible for a variety of reasons.

Thanks for any help / advice - the combination of the lack of rental availability and the difficulty in selling in England and buying in Scotland is making the move North seem far less wise than I thought when I applied for the job!

Brackenfield

I just want to wish you well on this, my husband and I did it and we found it very stressful!

I had my house on the market in Scotland, he in England and we bought in Scotland. So we were tied in to our new house purchase but his buyer could have pulled out right to the last gasp. Personally I'd rent, it may not be great but you'd be a cash buyer and have time to suss out your new area.

davidmcn

rich3245 wrote: »

1. I will be a less favourable buyer (compared to someone selling in Scotland) to most vendors in Scotland because I am selling in England and therefore do not have a contract with my buyer until 'Exchange of contracts' further down the line?

To an extent, yes. But these days there is often a delay before conclusion of missives because it's the norm that buyers will want to wait at least until they have their mortgage offer before committing themselves, and there are 101 other reasons which might slow things down (specialist surveys, queries about consents for alterations, the seller wanting to find somewhere to move to before they commit themselves, etc).

If I did make an offer in Scotland and it was accepted, then if my buyer (or their buyer) failed to complete and in turn I was unable to complete on the purchase, then I would be sued by the seller of the Scottish house?

If missives had been concluded then yes. But you wouldn't be doing that until you've exchanged down south, so it's the same risk as doing the whole thing in England if someone defaults on their contract.

Are there conveyancers in England who could offer a 'Scotland style' sale whereby my buyer was tied in to a contract at an early stage.

I doubt it, since you'd have to get everyone in the chain to do likewise, and there's no commonly-accepted practice to do it that way.

Are bridging loans available in case the Scottish purchase completes but the English sale doesn't?

At a hefty cost, perhaps, but much less available than in the old days.

Bass_9

I would sell, rent, then buy. Not ideal I know but it could be a nightmare!

rich3245

Brackenfield wrote: »

I just want to wish you well on this, my husband and I did it and we found it very stressful!

I had my house on the market in Scotland, he in England and we bought in Scotland. So we were tied in to our new house purchase but his buyer could have pulled out right to the last gasp. Personally I'd rent, it may not be great but you'd be a cash buyer and have time to suss out your new area.

Thanks, Renting was 'Plan A' but unfortunately there are very few (one!) rental properties available anywhere near work. It is in the Strathspey area and it seems that most potential rentals are holiday lets or second homes.

Thanks for wishing us well - I know we will figure it out in the end!

rich3245

davidmcn wrote: »

To an extent, yes. But these days there is often a delay before conclusion of missives because it's the norm that buyers will want to wait at least until they have their mortgage offer before committing themselves, and there are 101 other reasons which might slow things down (specialist surveys, queries about consents for alterations, the seller wanting to find somewhere to move to before they commit themselves, etc).
If missives had been concluded then yes. But you wouldn't be doing that until you've exchanged down south, so it's the same risk as doing the whole thing in England if someone defaults on their contract.

I doubt it, since you'd have to get everyone in the chain to do likewise, and there's no commonly-accepted practice to do it that way.

At a hefty cost, perhaps, but much less available than in the old days.

Thanks, that is all really helpful.

It sounds like I shouldn't give up on buying then, but I should be transparent with the vendors and try to move my sale to exchange of contracts as quickly as possible and until then I wouldn't sign off on the missives.

pinklady21

Can your new employer help you with accommodation, at least in the short term? Might be worth asking, they may even have some contacts who could find you a short term rental.
Best of luck - Scotland is brilliant!!!

agrinnall

Bass_9 wrote: »

I would sell, rent, then buy. Not ideal I know but it could be a nightmare!

If this is a possibility for you then I'd definitely consider it, I've done it several times, including when I did the opposite move (sold in Scotland, bought in England) and although it's more costly it's also much less stressful.