Home buying process Scotland...help?

[Househunter2021]

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone has some knowledge or experience of the house buying process in Scotland.

I’m currently in the process of looking for my first home. I have an Agreement in Principle and a quote from a conveyancing solicitor (recommended from the lender)s. Decided not to go with a mortgage broker as my friend (who has experience in the mortgage industry) told me that brokers don’t necessarily get better deals these days so going straight to the lender is fine.

Anyway, I’ve been reading a lot of threads on here about putting offers in, chains etc. Could anyone tell me what the process involves in Scotland? Do you offer under the asking price if it’s on as “offers over” “offers in excess of” or is it more an English thing to offer under the asking price?

TIA

All offers go through solicitors, so if you already have one organised that is good. When you see a property you like you need to speak to your solicitor who will give you some guidance as to where to place your offer. They have access to recent prices and will know the market. There will be a home report available for all properties which will have a valuation in it for guidance. It is unlikely any lenders will be happy to lend more than this. Usually when the listing says offers over, they mean offers over. Fixed price (unusual at the moment unless someone is desperate to sell) usually means the first person to offer that amount will get it. A lot will depend exactly where you are looking to buy e.g. central belt has a very buoyant market at the moment.

As above. Offer goes via your solicitor rather than the agent. Depends on area/interest, but frequently you put in an expression of interest on a property that you have your eye on. Solicitor keeps you up in the loop of other offers etc. You can offer but if there's reasonable interest/senaible offers, it goes to a 'closing date' - sellers sets a final date for offers, e.g. Friday at noon, and you your offer in. Highest generally wins. You can offer subject to survey.

Solicitors exchange missives which commits you to the sale, while they tie up the paperwork. Since you commit up fromnt, there's minimal pulling out/farting on like there is in England.

Offers over means just that - again, dependant on area/market but if it's on at o/o £225k then it's X amount over that price. Rarely a fixed priced - only if you're desperate/have a problem.

You

Also depends where you're looking - Edinburgh is about 20% over HR value at the moment & the market is very strong.

@guessmyusername
@Scotinoz
@LargeProsecco

Thank you for your replies, that helps clear things up for me a bit. @LargeProsecco that’s what I’m worried about, excouncil houses in my area are going for over well over the asking price which I think is crazy, although I might just have unrealistic expectations. But someone I know sold their middle terrace (excouncil), lovely decorated but has small livingroom and kitchen, gardens quite small and no driveway so have to park on a really tight road and it went for £26k OVER the home report. I just think that’s mental for the type of house and the (deprived) area its in.

Although the lender has said they’ll lend up to £157k, my top line is a house at £100k so I’m wondering if I should be focusing on ones in the 80-90k range so that there’s room for a bit of back and forth with offers or whatever? There are some lovely houses on Rightmove in the area for that price but obviously there’s slightly nicer ones at the top end of the budget. This will be first home though so probably could get something as a starter and move again in a few years once I’ve had a pay rise or progression in my career.

Thanks again for your replies 😊

Don't forget it might be worth stretching yourself a little at this point if you can afford it as every time you move you are spending at least £10K

@guessmyusername I suppose that does make sense plus there is really nothing I despise more than moving house and having to decorate 😩 I only moved into my wee HA flat just shy of 3 years ago so the thought of having to do it again and then maybe again is completely anxiety inducing for me. On the plus side, most of the furnishings in my house are still in very good shape so I probably won’t need much initial outlay in that respect. A lot of the houses I’ve seen are in walk in condition, would just need to tailor it to my taste room by room.

I’ve currently got about a 10% deposit, aiming for 15% (have been told lenders are possibly going to reintroduce 90% mortgages) so will just need to wait and see what my total is when I start viewings and all that.

If you want more local tips on what to offer, come on over to the Scotsnet section (find it in Other stuff).

You get the Home Report upfront which is excellent.
In Glasgow/Edinburgh etc expect to pay over the HR value, most others tend to go for a bit less.
You will need a formal offer from a solicitor to proceed but this is really not much of a hardship and something they should sort for you very easily

I have never heard of anyone winning a sealed bids with an offer under the asking price but then everyone i know is Edinburgh and Glasgow based.
The way it tends to work is that properties go on with an "offers over" price. If you're keen on a property then you put a note of interest in with the solicitor and once they have several of these they set a closing date (often a friday lunchtime) by which time you submit your bid and the highest bidder gets the house. Although it might not be the highest if the bids are close and one person is in a better position to move than the highest. If you're in a good position to move and a property is empty or buyer is desperate to move then it can be worth trying to put in an offer without it going to sealed bids.
You will only get a mortgage up to the valuation price of the property which is where it can get difficult if people have cash to add to it and are willing to pay more.
If properties aren't getting notes of interest or people are wanting a quick move then they might be on a fixed price, in which case that's the price you pay, or negotiate under.
Also, don't stick to just rightmove as a lot of scottish solicitors don't advertise on there. There's local property centres e.g. espc for Edinburgh, aspc in Aberdeen and also zoopla.
I also want to know where houses are that cheap?!?

Thank you everyone for your replies, I feel like I’ve got a better idea of what will happen now.

@emmathedilemma I’m from the East End of Glasgow, it’s quite a deprived area so you can get quite a generous 3 bedroom ex-council property for between 100-120k in move in condition or between 75-90k that need loads of work done.

Moving out North Lanarkshire way (where I’m probably headed) you get much more for your money. Saw a property in Coatbridge recently 4 bedroom ex-council on for offers over £92995. Kitchen needed updating but other than that, not too bad. I’m not a fan of new build properties, I think they lack character and if you’re not made of money then you end up with something quite small but expensive.

@ICouldHaveCheckedFirst thank you for this, I’m quite new to MN so didn’t know about that section 😊

'Offers over' or 'offers in excess of' means exactly that. You make a reasonable offer via your solicitor and take it from there. Sometimes popular housed go to 'sealed bids' when the house sale will go to a closing date, you and other interested parties make your best offer, and the seller picks the one they like the sound of best. Not always the highest bidder wins as things like not being in a chain can help seal the deal.
Check out the home report, zoopla, and speak to estate agents and your solicitor to see how much a house is actually worth. Bare in mind any mortgage offer will be based on the survey value, which will likely be that shown on the home report so any extra you offer above that comes out of your own pocket