Typical timings for buying a house in Scotland

Folksriker

God I wish I lived in Scotland

MeticulousMark

This was pre-pandemic, but I was 42 days between first viewing the flat and moving in. 

A couple of months would be the norm pre-pandemic, haven't heard thats changed much and a few people I know have moved since 2020.

comeandgo

Folksriker said:

God I wish I lived in Scotland

We don’t do chains which is where a lot of problems arise in England.

Drawingaline

comeandgo said:

Folksriker said:

God I wish I lived in Scotland

We don’t do chains which is where a lot of problems arise in England.

How does it work if you are selling and then buying then? Do people sell, move into rented and then buy? 

user1977

Drawingaline said:

comeandgo said:

Folksriker said:

God I wish I lived in Scotland

We don’t do chains which is where a lot of problems arise in England.

How does it work if you are selling and then buying then? Do people sell, move into rented and then buy? 

Probably an overstatement to say we don't do chains, as obviously people will tend to need to have a sale agreed before they can purchase - but we don't do chains to the same extent as the English. The general principle is that you stick to the date of entry (completion date) agreed at the time of the offer, though there can be some shuffling around - so if selling first you might want to insist on a longer date of entry to give you time to find something to buy, etc.

Rural_Puppy

In my experience of buying in Scotland - the shortest from viewing to keys was 8 weeks, the longest over a year! (but that was exceptional and due to a very awkward seller!) A Scottish solicitor in the area you intend to buy in would be able to give you all the ins and outs of purchasing up here. Similar to rest of UK but a few local quirks which you would be wise to know about.

googler

Drawingaline said:

comeandgo said:

Folksriker said:

God I wish I lived in Scotland

We don’t do chains which is where a lot of problems arise in England.

How does it work if you are selling and then buying then? Do people sell, move into rented and then buy? 

1. You either make an offer on your target property, with a long-enough entry date to allow you to sell, or

2. You secure an offer on your current property with an entry date long enough for you to buy. 

Or you make other arrangements.  

Honestly, it's not a difficulty when everyone simply sticks to the promised (and contractually-bound) entry date, and in 99.99% of cases, they do.  

We went the first route.  We'd had all the discussions with, and had hired the selling agent/solicitor, we had everything ready to go on selling, and we went looking for something to buy. Found that, offered, accepted, and put ours up for sale the next day. Couple of weeks of viewing (in early December), offers, sale agreed with matching entry date in February. 

Moved stuff out the day before, stayed with relatives overnight, moving company stored stuff for us for that one night, moved in next day.

koalakoala

comeandgo said:

We don’t do chains which is where a lot of problems arise in England.

We certainly do !
I had someone pull out of buying my house at the last minute as their buyer pulled out.

jennifernil

You had not concluded missives then?

That usually happens only a few weeks into the process.    Pulling out after then is very  costly.

googler

Folksriker said:

God I wish I lived in Scotland

The system in E&W will only change if someone pressures the Govt to do so. 

Lobby your MP as a start. Consider what changes to the current system would make it work better. etc