Selling / buying house - no mortgage - in scotlanf

[justwondering72]

Asking for my PIL here...

They own outright their current property, they wish to sell up, use most of the money to buy a smaller property and keep some for a rainy day. How does the timing work for putting their current place on the market and making an offer on another one? My MIL has been told by 'someone' that because they are not looking for a mortgage, they'll need to prove that their current house has already been sold so that they can fund the outright purchase of their new place BEFORE they make an offer.

We bought a flat outright a few years ago (investment) and I'm fairly sure that we didn't have to prove anything, we just stated that we were 'cash buyers' and that was enough to go ahead. I accept that my PIL aren't quite in this situation, as they aren't cash buyers until they've sold up. But I can't see how they can get to the point of having sold their current place before they can even make an offer on another place?

Thanks

The title should of course be Scotland!

No different from if you had a mortgage on an existing property but had to have bridging funds in place in case of a delayed sale. The market where I am in Scotland is pretty slow and sticky at the moment so most people are selling before buying.

Most people here won't accept an offer until your house is sold anyway! Why would they? It could take months.

Doesn't stop them going on viewings and telling people that their place hasn't sold but would they accept an offer........

Similarly they could get the deeds of their property to demonstrate to anyone the owned it outright.

Cheers for that. I've never had to sell and buy at the same time, neither have my parents... it never occurred to me how tricky it would be to juggle the two sides. So does it generally work out... Or do people end up missing out on properties (because they can't sell in time) or having to rent / live with relatives / get some kind of bridging loan if they've sold, but haven't managed to buy?

Bear in mind bridging can be difficult to obtain particularly open bridging
Really depends on what the market is like

They don't want to end up with 2 houses or no houses

Strongly suggest they speak to their solicitor

Not needing a mortgage puts them into a slightly better position than if they did

Options
Sell first Safe but inconvenient

Buy first with a long entry date if the area they are in is a place where the market is competitive

Sell first with a long entry if they are more worried about seling

Effectivvely most people juggle the 2 so they don't conclude purchase missives until sale missives are done

Most buyers will be in the same position

The purchasers of their existing house will likely need a mortgage so won't conclude contracts until the offer of loan is in place. That's usually the biggest holdup as chains develop like in England because of the banking crisis. Your PILs are in a good position and with the advice of a Scottish solicitor will be best placed to make the jump as painlessly as possible. It is the norm for people to sell and buy on the same day in Scotland. The advice given to your MIL is wrong or seriously misconstrued. The law society of Scotland's website has a search function which will give the names of solicitors.

So they need to work with a solicitor, who will help them to smooth out the dates? The person my MIL spoke to apparently said its some new rules that they have to prove they've sold before buying. I'm not convinced she's picking this up right. Hmm, DH will have to speak to them. Thanks all for the advice.

Sounds like you're better handing this to DH to solve. A solicitor will put them right, they sound in desperate need of some real reliable information, not hearsay from friends (or strangers on the Internet )

A lot of solicitors also have estate agency businesses in Scotland. They could then advise your PIL on the best approach to the local market and the sale of their house while also being in a position to certify finances for their purchase. Find one by searching GSPC (Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre) website in the West or ESPC (Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre) in the East.

I mentioned it to DH, who agrees but reckons they'll need to be really pushed to consult a solicitor as it might involve (gasp!) spending money. I can't believe they haven't had this situation before, they've moved house several times over the years and presumably had to do this thing of juggling selling / buying each time. So I think it's my MIL misunderstanding, and thinking it's some kind of new rule being imposed, rather than just the same situation. Anyhow, thanks for the advice.