Once you have
found a suitable property, our agents will confirm all the selling
arrangements prior to arranging a local solicitor to Offer for the property
on your behalf. Clearly, the solicitor will only carry out your instructions
and the Offer should of course reflect EXACTLY what has been agreed
verbally.
We can also arrange for an independent Survey of the
property with the Report and Invoice going directly to your home address.
THE OFFER: In summary, the legal system
in Scotland is geared to a fast moving exchange of formal letters, known as
missives.
The purchaser’s solicitor makes an offer including a price, date of entry,
and a series of conditions covering, e.g. common burdens, rights of way and
a host of other practical points. The seller’s solicitor replies, accepting
some conditions, rejecting some, and qualifying others. The exchange of
letters goes on until differences have been settled, at which point the
magic words are used "we hold the bargain as
concluded". From that moment there is a binding
contract. The whole process can be completed within a few days but normally
will take a number of weeks – frequently 4 / 6 weeks.
The speed and finality of the Scottish
system imposes responsibilities on both buyer and seller. Unless both
parties agree otherwise the Date of Entry in the offer is the date on which
the seller must make his property available, and the buyer must have the
price ready.
The seller has
the responsibility of exhibiting local Searches and proving his title is
good, although he may try to shift some of this responsibility to the
purchaser in the missives. It has to be remembered that what is not covered
in the missives does not form part of the contract. It is vitally important
therefore to either party, buyer or seller, that they check the terms of the
missives being prepared in their name, and discuss them fully with the
estate agent and their solicitor. The buyers’ principal responsibility is to
ensure that they have made arrangements for the price to be available on the
date of entry. This is relatively straightforward where there is no other
sale involved, or the other sale is through the Scottish system. If however
a person is selling in England and buying in Scotland this should be drawn
to the attention of the estate agent and solicitor acting in Scotland so
that suitable arrangements can be made.
For most people buying and selling a house is one of the
biggest transactions they will ever undertake. Nobody can say that the
process will be problem free: no two people will see things in quite the
same way! It is nice to know however that by buying your house the Scottish
way you cannot be gazumped, (i.e. the seller cannot change his mind and
suddenly demand a higher price) stuck in a chain, or have the other side
pull out day before the furniture van arrives because contracts have still
not been exchanged. What the Scottish legal system offers is peace of mind.
On the completion
/ settlement date it
is important to liaise with the estate agent and respective solicitors prior
to arranging to collect keys etc. The estate agent or solicitor will not
pass over the keys until all funds are seen to have cleared into the
appropriate account. Thereafter, you can relax in you new home - Welcome to
the Highlands!
