sell a house
The Scottish system front-loads the survey onto the seller and makes the deal binding much earlier than in England. Both of those differences work in a seller’s favour, and both catch out anyone who has moved north.
The short version
You cannot market the property without a Home Report. Offers are made by solicitors in writing. Once missives are concluded the contract is binding on both sides, so gazumping and gazundering are largely designed out. Your costs are the Home Report, the estate agency fee if you use an agent, and your solicitor’s fee. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is paid by the buyer, not by you.
The Home Report comes first
Since 2008 a property may not be put on the market without a Home Report, and it has three parts. The single survey gives a condition assessment and a valuation which buyers and their lenders both rely on. The energy report gives the efficiency rating. The property questionnaire is completed by you and covers council tax band, alterations, parking, flooding history and any disputes with neighbours.
The questionnaire is the part that causes trouble
You complete it yourself, and it is relied upon. Understating a known problem, a boundary dispute, or work carried out without building warrant, is the commonest source of a claim against a seller after settlement. Answer it accurately even where the answer is unhelpful, and take advice where you are unsure.
Offers, closing dates and when you are committed
Property in Scotland is usually marketed at offers over a stated figure. Where interest is strong the selling agent sets a closing date, at which all offers are submitted at a fixed time. You are not obliged to accept the highest, or any.
Acceptance is not the end of it. Solicitors then exchange formal letters, called missives, adjusting the terms. Only when missives are concluded is there a binding contract, and at that point neither side can walk away without paying damages. The gap between accepting an offer and concluding missives is short compared with the English equivalent, but it is the period in which the deal is still fragile.
The sequence
- Instruct a solicitor and obtain the Home Report.
- Market the property, with your solicitor or an estate agent.
- Receive offers, and set a closing date if interest justifies it.
- Accept an offer, and adjust missives until they are concluded.
- Your solicitor examines title, deals with the buyer’s queries and obtains a redemption statement for your mortgage.
- Settlement: keys are handed over, the price is paid, the mortgage is redeemed and the balance is remitted to you.
What it costs you
In Scotland, unusually, solicitors commonly act as estate agents as well, through the local solicitors’ property centres. Combining the two can reduce the overall cost and removes a handover point, though it is not automatically the cheaper route and is worth comparing.
If you are selling a second property
Where you paid the Additional Dwelling Supplement on a purchase because you had not yet sold your previous main residence, you can reclaim it if you sell that previous home within the statutory period. The window is generous but it is not indefinite, and the reclaim must be made properly. Tell your solicitor at the outset if this applies, because it is easily missed and the sums are substantial.
A note on this page
This is general information about how the law works in Scotland. It is not advice about your situation and it cannot be, because we do not know your circumstances. Nothing here should be relied on as a substitute for speaking to a solicitor about your own case.
Tell us what has happened.
Two minutes, no cost, and no obligation. We will pass your details to one of our member firms, who will be in touch. You decide whether to send anything at all.
Recent Comments