Selling in England & Buying in Scotland

CBB947

Hi,I hope someone here can help. My husband and I want to sell our Bungalow in Lincolnshire and move to a similar one in Scotland. Our Property is not yet on the market, but we want to buy in Scotland where I know the Laws are different. We don't have a mortgage as we are both Retired (70 and 71 years of age) - and neither do we have the funds for a deposit. Can we still arrange a dual completion date for both sale and purchase? Can we have our "Scottish Solicitor" deal with both sale and purchase - or will we need two different solicitors? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

davidmcn

You'll need separate solicitors, I'm not aware of any dual-qualified ones offering residential conveyancing. You can do simultaneous entry dates if you want, the main difficulty you'll face is that in Scotland you will generally be expected to be in a contract at an earlier stage than in England. So assuming you need to exchange in England first, your Scottish sellers might be impatient, or prefer another buyer. Not impossible though.

comeandgo

As a Scottish seller there is no way I would accept your offer if you did not have your property sold. We don't do "chains" in Scotland.

Pixie5740

CBB947 wrote: »

Hi,I hope someone here can help. My husband and I want to sell our Bungalow in Lincolnshire and move to a similar one in Scotland. Our Property is not yet on the market, but we want to buy in Scotland where I know the Laws are different. We don't have a mortgage as we are both Retired (70 and 71 years of age) - and neither do we have the funds for a deposit. Can we still arrange a dual completion date for both sale and purchase? Can we have our "Scottish Solicitor" deal with both sale and purchase - or will we need two different solicitors? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

It's not just that the laws are different, the whole property buying/selling process is different. There isn't a completion date in Scotland there is conclusion of the missives and date of entry. Timing could be an issue because generally speaking the contract becomes legally binding much sooner in Scotland than in England.

You can use either a Scottish or English solicitor providing they are dual qualified in Scottish and English law otherwise you'll have to use two separate solicitors.

missile

If you have no funds for deposit and no income to support a mortgage(?) it would appear your only option would be to sell in England then arrange temporary accommodation before you buy in Scotland.
If you have zero funds available, how do you intend to pay the selling / buying fees and relocation costs?
Do you expect to find a similar house for less in Scotland, to foot the relocation costs?
Where do you intend to buy?
Have you checked the comparative house prices?
A comparable bungalow in many locations in Scotland could cost more than your property in Lincolnshire is worth.

CBB947

Hi Missile, Our property in Lincolnshire is worth more than the property we wish to buy in Scotland. We were hoping that we could use the deposit we get from a buyer here, to pay for the new purchase. We also have property abroad to sell - but no buyers currently, due to Winter conditions (Bulgaria and Romania), and do not expect any sellers for several months yet. It looks as though we might have to do as other respondents have suggested - and arrange temporary accommodation once our property is sold. Disheartening and more costly than anticipated - but we are determined to move, so I guess we will just have to "soldier on" and see where we get to!

bris

Move to Bulgaria or Romania after you sell until you buy in Scotland.

missile

CBB947 wrote: »

Hi Missile, Our property in Lincolnshire is worth more than the property we wish to buy in Scotland. We were hoping that we could use the deposit we get from a buyer here, to pay for the new purchase. We also have property abroad to sell - but no buyers currently, due to Winter conditions (Bulgaria and Romania), and do not expect any sellers for several months yet. It looks as though we might have to do as other respondents have suggested - and arrange temporary accommodation once our property is sold. Disheartening and more costly than anticipated - but we are determined to move, so I guess we will just have to "soldier on" and see where we get to!

Good luck selling in Bulgaria, I understand that can be difficult. Sell your house in England and live in Bulgaria until you find the property you want to buy in Scotland.

googler

comeandgo wrote: »

As a Scottish seller there is no way I would accept your offer if you did not have your property sold. We don't do "chains" in Scotland.

I concur.

If as a seller, I accepted an offer from a prospective buyer, and they were selling in Scotland, they would put a Entry Date in the offer. With a FTB or someone else selling in Scotland, I could rely on the fact that they would abide by the agreed entry date. If my buyer were selling, they and their agents would ensure they were able to complete their own sale and complete on purchase of mine.

With sales in England-shire, there's not the same degree of certainty. You folks don't agree the entry date upfront, you don't agree the contract terms upfront, and you don't agree the fixtures and fittings upfront. In short, practically nothing is agreed at the offer stage.

So... as a Scottish seller, I would be looking for proof that you had completed your sale, and had funds in place to complete the purchase of my property on the agreed entry date (which I would expect to be finalised well before conclusion of missives).

As was said, take a holiday in your foreign property, or arrange temp accommodation in the UK; touring caravan, residential caravan, hotel, B&B ...... rented house/flat

You may wish to read up about the house buying/selling system in Scotland, so that you know more than just "the laws are different" ... you need to know what's going on.

Feel free to ask more specific questions here, and I/we will do our best to help.

theartfullodger

CBB947 wrote: »

Hi,
..............


We don't have a mortgage as we are both Retired (70 and 71 years of age) -.............

Mortgages are available to at least age 80 these days, see e.g. ...
https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/how-to-get-a-mortgage-if-you-are-an-older-borrower.htm
(I've got two mortgages that run to my age 80, I am 71)

The way to get a deposit is to get a bank-loan from your bankers (ideally - or someone else) against the value of your existing house, to be paid off when sold. Yes it might cost a bit.

I can't think that many would want to agree to sell to you without some significant deposit offered by way of good faith to show you are serious.

Scotland, lovely place, more pleasant (IMHO..) people than England on balance, others may disagree.. can be cold, wet, and taxation can be higher .. Benefits can be kinder.

Artful: (English, lived in Scotland, now in Engerland again).

missile

In my opinion the OP has done little research and this is a dream. No issue with that, it is good to have a dream. She needs to have a plan if she wants to make that dream come true.