House buying. Are we wrong?

[Prisonbreak]

I'm a first time buyer due to sign missives and exchange within 10 days. In Scotland.
When our offer was accepted months ago we asked if we could access the property again and we were refused. We were told we could only go back after we sign the missives. We accepted this but friends and family are saying that's a red flag.
Just yesterday we heard that the garden fence has been damaged and needs fully replaced (£2,500) This is at current owners cost but the work will not come with a guarantee and should it be sub par then it's our expense to resolve. We have asked for access again as the house/ garden will be different. The replacement fence quote is very vague and doesn't mention height, colour etc.
we were again told we can see it after we sign the missives. Are we being naïve or is this normal?

@Answersunknown id feel better if we had that as an option and we could check the repair before signing. We are also chain free so no real drama on our side if this falls through. But once we sign, we are stuck

Absolutely do not sign missives until repairs to damage after offer was accepted are done to your satisfaction. Tell the solicitor that you wont sign unless its replaced or they agree to reduce the price by whatever the fence will cost.

How long since the survey was done? You might find its out-of-date (I think it needs to be less than 6 months old when house is actually sold, but I might havetthe timeframe wrong), in which case the sellers will need to get it renewed -thats more comforting than a viewing would be.

This doesn’t sound like a great situation - if you’re not that wed to the house then perhaps walk away. There are not that many reasons to legitimately refuse your very reasonable requests. Perhaps ask your solicitor to propose to their solicitors that unless you are allowed access then the sale will fall through as their behaviour is giving you cause for concern.

To be honest, if you did proceed and find issues, they have already shown how they will handle them…

@Saz12 this is my thinking too that we sign nothing until fully satisfied but the general consensus here is that I’m being unreasonable

the survey is 4 months old

cant you park up near by for a look at fence situation

How many times have you been in the house?

Can you provide a link to that, I’ve never heard of it and I can’t find anything when I Google? Thanks

@Nicknacky it's in an email to us from our lawyer. As I said it was 2016 so things may have changed since then. This time around we've had 3 visits in total to the house we are hopefully completing on v soon - missives still not signed - (first view / second view for specifics and then third to do some measuring and have a couple of trades quote for us in preparation)

Just wondered, I’ve bought pre and after 2016 and never have I heard that. I really don’t think it’s a legal requirement

this is not the house for you

@Nicknacky no probs, FWIW our current house we bought in 2016 was empty and so is the one we are hopeful to complete on this time too so maybe that changes things? Who knows 🤷‍♀️ it's a total minefield!! Email definitely says 'legally entitled to'

I thought in Scotland, offering on a house (and that offer being accepted) is legally binding, so the seller could sue you for any loss, including a bridging loan they might need to move.

you weren’t “legally entitled”

the vendors solicitor and told your solicitor that they were happy for there to be two further visits

OP did you pay for a survey or are you just going by the Home Report?

When we sold our first property in Scotland, the surveyors spent less than 5 minutes looking around (not an exaggeration). I genuinely thought that they had done a "tour" and then about to start the survey. But no, that was them.

When we then bought our next house the home report didn't even notice that the electricity didn't working in 3 rooms downstairs! We only noticed after we asked for a second viewing, after having our offer accepted.

Seriously, in Scotland do you see a house just once then have to buy it before a second viewing? It's the most expensive purchase you ever make. I might try on an expensive coat or shoes a couple of times before deciding and they are only a few hundred not hundreds of thousands.

and it’s odd that it’s held up on mumsnet as sone kind of perfect system that England should apply. Whereas i think it’s appalling!

Also in Scotland and totally normal not to be allowed access until missives are signed. Even then legally they don't have to allow you access however most people will allow you in to measure up for blinds etc. This is why it's wise to do multiple viewings before making an offer and having an extended survey done at your own cost. 10 days before to sign missives is also quite late. Our missives were concluded 4 weeks prior to exchange and we allowed our buyer to come in 3 times to measure up for various things.

We bought last year and we could only get in for the second time after the missives had been signed

I would never but a house after seeing it once - I would have made a second and even a third visit! I don't know about Scotland but if a English seller said no more viewings til after exchange I'd walk.

We buy and sell in Scotland though haven't for a long time (since 2007)

We used to go for several visits before making an offer. (At the time sellers were always "open" Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon).

We go 3 or 4 times, if we'd made a note of interest we'd try and go again before/when a closing date was set.

When we had an offer accepted (missives were signed a lot faster back then) we were allowed one more visit and that was because both solicitors agreed this.

Bite the bullet and email your solicitor with exactly that - repairs will need to be inspected before exchange of missives.
They can inform the other side and if they say no- your solicitor replies that sale unlikely to proceed.
2 weeks from exchange their solicitor will tell them to wise up, unless there are huge issues they don’t want you to see - in which case youre better warned

No. Lots of people think so, but actually it's not. But missives in Scotland usually complete quite quickly. At which point you ARE legally obligated

If you are chain free you are in a very strong position.
even in our ‘popular’ markets the sellers eyes lit up and the estate agents suddenly got interested when we said we weren’t selling, not tied to a chair or dates.
id push back harder

@TheDefiant but presumably there was not much interest in these properties, for you to be able to visit 3-4x before an offer?

my place had 4 offers on the day went to market. Thankfully mine was accepted!

@Nicknacky we have only seen the house once