Buying in Scotland

Gonzo44

Hi Everyone, 

I am a first time buyer in Scotland.  We have had an offer accepted on a property (originally pre-lockdown which was paused, but moving forward now!).  Everything is now with the solicitor, however I am feeling nervous because I have no idea what the solicitor is doing or should be doing, or the timelines I should expect for this side to take.  We have a projected completion date everyone is working to, but that is more than a month or so away right now.  I don't want to keep bothering the solicitor with lots of questions (which they don't always seem to answer directly - though this may be because there is no easy answer though).  What I would really like to know is what are the various processes that the solicitor will be going through between now and completion and what rough timescale should we be expecting these. 

For example, I have heard lots of talk of completion of Missives (though no one has ever really explained what these are) but don't know when this should happen - should it be weeks before completion or days??   Also, people talk about the solicitor doing 'Searches' but I don't know searches for what, and do I have to check that they are ding these?  I am almost certainly overly worrying about these things, but as this is the biggest purchase I have ever made, I would like to understand what is going on in the process.

So I am hoping someone here on the forum might be able to offer some advice on what is likely to be happening and when?

Caz3121

the process is explained on the Scottish Government website
https://www.mygov.scot/buying-a-home/overview/
lots of bits you don't need to be concerned about and the solicitor will deal with. If you are worried you can ask the question "is everything progressing ok for completion date?"

Owain_Moneysaver

When you say you have had an offer 'accepted' what do you mean? A verbal indication that the amount offered is acceptable? That isn't an acceptance in Scottish law. 
You make an offer to buy with conditions, the seller responds with conditions, you respond with conditions and at the point both parties are in agreement then Missives are concluded and the binding contract is formed. 
The buyer's solicitor will be carrying out searches for coal mines, contaminated land, flooding etc. In many cases these are carried out by specialist enquiry firms and in normal circumstances (ie non-Covid) will be turned around in a couple of days. 
A lot of delay can be caused by the seller not responding to their own solicitor's questions quickly enough. 
https://espc.com/useful-info/buying-a-property
"the ideal timescale from a verbal offer acceptance to actually receiving the house keys is typically five–six weeks"
A Scottish solicitor can do a straightforward conveyance in about 3 weeks if everyone's working together.

davidmcn

Owain_Moneysaver said:

The buyer's solicitor will be carrying out searches

Seller's solicitor (unlike England).

zagubov

One advantage of the current situation is that you're less likely to find that your solicitor has gone on a long holiday during the house sale which seems to happen a heck of a lot judging by previous threads here.

Gonzo44

Thanks everyone that’s really helpful.

Cheers!

scottiescott

I'm also in Scotland. Process started two weeks ago.  My formal offer with what they call Scottish Standard Clauses has been sent and the vendors have responded either agreeing or asking for removal of certain clauses. I now have to consider and respond accordingly. Searches were done by my solicitor for things like any planning applications nearby, any flood risk etc etc. All done "behind the scenes" if you like. Guess I still have 3-4 weeks to go before I get keys.