Of course, at this stage, there is no guarantee that your offer will be accepted, and so it is not uncommon to end up having to pay for surveys on more than one property. This is, unfortunately, one of disadvantages of Scottish system. In England and Wales, where you can make your offer and then pull out before contracts are exchanged, buyers normally only have to pay for one survey.

Making an offer

After seller's solicitor has received notification of interest from two or more buyers, he will announce a closing date by which all of offers must be received. Because a sealed bids system is used, no-one knows what anyone else has bid. Also, each buyer can only bid once, so it is important to think very carefully about what size offer to make and get it right first time.

Your solicitor will make offer on your behalf and will also advise a "date of entry". This is date when you will be given keys to your new home, and is equivalent of completion date used in England and Wales.

Once closing date for offers comes, vendor will accept highest bid and from this point on both parties are committed. There are no deposits involved unless you are buying a new property, but if either buyer or seller pulls out from here on, they are liable for any losses other party may have incurred.

Concluding missives

After offer is accepted, buyer's solicitor will "conclude missives". This is similar to exchanging contracts under English system. Once all details of sale have been agreed via this procedure, you as buyer are responsible for structure of building and need to make sure you have adequate buildings insurance in place.

Settlement

All funds to buy property, together with all fees, need to be ready for forwarding to your solicitor about two weeks before date of entry. These monies will be transferred to your solicitor day before your date of entry, and you will then need to sign title deed to property.

Finally, vendor's solicitor will hand over keys and "disposition document" which legally transfers ownership of property to you.

If you have any questions or concerns about house buying process in Scotland (or anywhere else) or if you need advice on finding a suitable mortgage, you should visit Scottish Mortgages for expert professional mortgage advice.

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Copyright 2004 David Miles. You are welcome to reproduce this article on your website, so long as it is published "as is" (unedited) and with author's bio paragraph (resource box) and copyright information included. In addition, all links to external websites must be left in place.