Buying a plot of land in Scotland

jiem

Hi, I’m new to this, I was thinking of buying a plot of land north of Scotland and fitting a container home out and living off grid, Is there any legality that would prevent me from doing this?

MalMonroe

Hi, and welcome.

First of all, you could have a look at the information in this link - https://www.mygov.scot/buying-plot

And take things from there. Contact the council (or Scottish equivalent, I'm not sure what that would be as I'm in England) for the area you'd like to buy a plot of land in. Visit the land and have a really good look round.

The council should be able to tell you all the legalities of what you're planning for the area you'd like to live in.

Good luck with it all - and please ensure that container is well insulated, from what I hear it's much colder in Scotland than it is where I live.   

cannugec5

jiem said:

Hi, I’m new to this, I was thinking of buying a plot of land north of Scotland and fitting a container home out and living off grid, Is there any legality that would prevent me from doing this?

North of Scotland? 

So where precisely? 

Antarctica? Iceland? Faroes? 

When you say North of Scotland obviously you mean beyond the Shetland and Orkney Islands. 

Or do you REALLY mean, North, but IN Scotland? 

jiem

North but in Scotland not any of our islands 

Heedtheadvice

Not quite as simple as Mal writes but good to do those things too.

You need to be aware that the land ( or your portion of it) will certainly have a deed associated with it being heritable property. That deed will most likely have defined responsibilities and limitations associated with it and potentially rights that others have.Also it could  well be kind that has a defined particular use such as agricultural so for a residence a change of use would need to be part of planning permission. If you cannot get that after purchase, without a conveyancing clause, that ( and others planning  requirements, lots of ) if they fail, could be a show stopper.

You need to look into these to get a general indication before expressing an interest ( should ) in purchase and when making  an offer (it needs to be a formal offer called Missives ) that could be accepted ( = contractually binding) ensure your plan is valid and your offer has a get out clause if you cannot then complete properly at the date of entry without detriment to yourself.

You might be able to get planning permission and Scottish Building regs consent prior to conveyance completion - it could take quite a while and have significant associated costs for that phase of your plan. It is essential to get some good advice from your Scottish solicitor  not just someone acting as an Estate Agent!

Otherwise it will be your risk.....IMHO. I am not a legal expert!