Offering on a Scottish property when moving from England....

[tricot39]

Hi
Can you help clear this up for me?

We are considering a move to Edinburgh.
I have been told for us to make a viable offer on a Scottish property we would need to have "concluded missives" on our English home - and that this is the equivalent of "exchanging contracts".

Surely if we exchange contracts on our house we will have (at most) a couple of months before we are homeless? A chain will not want to wait until we find a house to buy!?

How on earth does this work if you are selling and buying in Scotland? Do you not have chains? and Exchanges on the same day etc??

I am totally

Up here, we usually sell before we buy and that's a legal contract. No pulling out or gazumping. We'd then put in an offer on one we want to buy, and when that's accepted, agree suitable moving dates etc

Be aware that parts of Edinburgh still have boomIng property market, with Offers over and closing dates. I don't think any vendor or estate agent will take you seriously unless you've sold your own property.

If need be, can you sell and then rent for a while?

Thanks. We had thought we would do this but had wondered if it would be possible to avoid it as the minium lease would be 6 months and we would be worried about being out of the market.

Which areas are still going strong?
There are a lot of houses sitting on the market which have been there for a few months but I assume that good ones maybe don't even make it on to the internet?

Not sure. I'm in Glasgow, but I know a friend was buying in the new town area and getting outbid. She eventually gave up and bought in an east Lothianvisual age instead. You should post on the Edinburgh local board. They' be able to help you.

Hi

Scotland is very different from England.

In Scotland you can offer but it is not legally binding until missives are concluded. Until missives are concluded either party can pull out. Missives can be completed very quickly, ie within 3-4 weeks (sometimes a lot quicker). Your moving in date can be at a later date. For example I concluded missives on a property today and the entry date is not until 3rd September but from today the sale is legally binding.

You are in a much better position if you have a binding contract with your english sale.

We very rarely exhange on the same day although I did have one earlier in the year when we concluded missives the day before the date of entry. This was for a buy to let property though. Generally we conclude missives several weeks before the date of entry.

What I would suggest is that you keep an eye on the ESPC. Have a good Scottish Solicitor ready to act for you when you find the right house. A good solicitor will be able to progress missives very quickly so, if for example you see something you like over a weekend he should be able to offer on the Monday and proceed with missives quickly through the course of the following week. I have in the past concluded missives on the same day as an offer has been made.

We are fortunate in Scotland (well most parts) to have Standard Clauses which is clauses agreed for conveyancing by Scottish Solicitors thereby usually making conditions of an offer only 2-3 points which can be dealt with very quickly.

Please ask if you have any further questions.

Hi. The edinburgh local board isn't too busy at the moment but thanks anyway!

and 2 months in Scottish Conveyancing is AGES!

hi Tricot, we have just had an offer accepted on something in Edinburgh. As others have said it is totally different up here. The whole offers over thing in itself can be quite difficult. We missed out on a few before we got this one as we hadn't realised that things that are on at offers around rather than offers over are still going for 10% over or more. That does depend on the area though and the price range you are looking in. We were told that 3 other parties placed a bid and that we weren't the highest offer but our position was the most favourable in terms being very close to have concluded missives on the property that we were selling. We were also told that on properties that are sought after i.e that will go to a closing date with sealed bids, there is little point in putting an offer in unless you have concluded missives or are very close to doing so. If you haven't concluded but are interested in a property that is just sitting on the market you can get your solicitor to put a note of interest in which formally notes that you are very interested in buying the property and you are then kept up date as to what happens with it. It doesn't cost anything to put a note of interest in and you can put as many as you like in. ESPC is definately the place to be looking. What areas are you thinking of buying in? I have in depth knowledge of lots of the properties currently on ESPC having scoured it obsessively for the last few months

And remember all properties in Scotland have a home report which contains a survey so you know what a property is worth before you even visit it.

Also to say, that it's not uncommon to put in an offer for around 10% less than the home report.

The market up here is historically quieter over the summer - a good friend who is a surveyor is pretty sure prices are coming down & says the market is really quiet just now.

Also, when we made an offer recently, our bank (RBS) would not accept the buyer's home report & insisted we commission our own survey.

I think places like Morningside, Stockbridge are traditionally more buoyant.

Thank you all!

Gregs that is the best description I have had! Completely clear - and faintly terrifying! The idea of selling our house and having not found somewhere to go is not great really, but if we end up in rental it will not be too bad.

yawning I suspect we are looking in a popular area - I will PM you for some lowdown! But it is interesting to hear that offers around are still attracting a 10% premium - is that based on HIP valuation or asking price?

It is also interesting that yawning advised prices 10% over while lotsofcheese indicated 10% under! I assume that comes down to location??

lotsofcheese the market here is probably the same across the UK in basic trends (also seen in the stockmarket) with busy periods after school summer holidays and in the New Year, and very quiet in the summer to September. Whether the economic climate will mean any busy times in the next couple of years remains to be seen.

Another question: It is normal for completion of sale to follow exchange by about 4 weeks. That is quite a short time for anything to break or go wrong. Wat happens if you conclude missives with a long period until date of entry and something has gone wrong or the condition has changed?