Advice on move to Scotland...wait to sell existing property or start making offers now?

[Artygirlghost]

I have been thinking of moving to a Scottish seaside town now for a while from the South East of England and will start looking at properties soon but I am not sure whether:

• I should wait for the sale of my flat to complete first so I can be a cash buyer (I won't need a mortgage but obviously will only become cash buyer once the sale of my flat completes) or if I will be taken seriously as a buyer now if I start bidding for properties while my flat sale is still going through. Realistically my sale is progressing nicely but it will be up to 2 months until complication.

• I have narrowed down my search to places like Dunbar, Troon, Largs, Dalgety Bay. I work remotely at the moment so I am looking for a friendly seaside town no more than an hour away from either Glasgow or Edinburgh. I have no idea though of what the rental market is like in these areas and whether it will be easy to rent somewhere while I find the right house to buy and complete the purchase process.

I was first thinking of renting in the South East while I house-hunt but I find everything about England and the Tories so depressing right now that I just want to pack my things and get out as soon as I can.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

There’s not a huge rental market in those towns but should be ok. I would, personally, wait until you have completed though. It kind of sounds like a headache with a lot going on if you don’t.

Your comment re staying where you are for a while but not liking the tories is a bit odd. What do you expect up here? We are still part of the UK but also dealing with a lot of issues because of SNP drive for independence. And there are a lot of issues here. So I wouldn’t expect to escape any kind of political populism anytime soon.

Why don't you rent in Scotland after selling, to make sure you are happy where you are buying?

You would be a mortgage free purchaser if you bought now, which can be attractive for some.

Is there a reason other than the stories that you need to move to someplace In Scotland.

The examples you've given are all different so why not a seaside town nearer to you

It depends on how the market in those places are now. Some places have slowed down sales wise, but others are still very fast.

Most importantly get yourself a Scottish solicitor for making offers.

You need to sell first. Scotland has a different legal system so offers are legally binding. I don't think you can make an offer until you have at least exchanged contracts on your own.

You can make a conditional offer based on sale of English property but it's less appealing than one based in the Scottish system.

Renting in Scotland has no minimum term for a tenancy (unlike in England where you are tied in for 6 months at a minimum) so I'd rent while looking. You'll get a better feel for areas that way anyway...

you can make an offer, probably wont be accept tho
i was discouraged by the estate agent when i received an offer from someone who wasnt on the market yet, chances are they would have sold quickly but nothing would be signed legally until they had sold their place and i didnt want to wait that long

I would look to sell 1st and rent in Scotland. Will give you a better feel for the area and easier to move quickly on a house you like.

As PPs have said, you can offer without having sold your house but it's unlikely to be accepted. Most sellers in Scotland would not accept an offer from someone in England who hadn't yet sold.

Thank you so much everyone for taking the time to give me useful feedback and confirm that it is best to sell first and rent while I am house hunting. I will get myself a Scottish solicitor as well probably a local one to where I will be renting.

I am not going to respond to couple people who asked why I was moving as this is not relevant to the queries I had.

Sell first and get a Scottish solicitor.

Once you have an offer accepted on a property you can't back out like you can in England.

Dunbar, Troon, Largs, Dalgety Bay

Good choice of locations.

Have you ever actually been to any of these places? Largs is, shall we say, very different from Dunbar.

''@MightyAtlantic
Have you ever actually been to any of these places? Largs is, shall we say, very different from Dunbar.''

As above, this is not what this thread is about.

No, I've bought before I'd sold. Offers aren't legally binding.

I’m local and agree with previous posters that the areas are massively different (for example Dalgety Bay is not a seaside town, it’s simply a town that happens to be by the coast. Rental markets will be very different in different areas and in some parts the housing market is turning over very quickly at the moment (houses on the market and gone in a matter of a couple of days).

Definitely sell,first. The Scottish system moves much faster than the English, often with the whole thing going though in 6-8 weeks. You’d be in a very strong position as a buyer without a chain

Most sellers won't accept an offer from someone who hasn't sold or doesn't have a sale in progress. I would sell first.

There's fuck all in Dalgety Bay.

I know you won't answer this but have you actually been to these places? Have you been to Scotland?! These towns are not comparable. You'd be wise to come and up and actually take a look at these places and other coastal towns/villages in your one hour Gla/Edi radius

In terms of the "sell first" advice, I think you could sensibly make offers once you have exchanged contracts on your English sale. They are different systems and it would be very unusual for an English sale not to complete once you've exchanged, and your buyer would likely lose their deposit. You can make an offer in Scotland subject to your English sale completing but if you've exchanged contracts then that will make you a more attractive buyer up here.

It would be worth talking to local agents in the area you're looking at to see how much over the asking prices houses are going for. It's probably slowed down now but there have been crazy bidding wars on properties over the last 18 months with popular places in or near Glasgow going for 20% or more over ther home report valaution. But I don't know about the markets in the town's you listed, and it may be slowing generally.

Thank you @Grumpycatsmum

I have a completion date now :) of mid-December so as I have started looking at home reports and doing viewings in Troon and Dunbar. A couple of places have been reduced according to the agents.

I decided against Dalgety Bay, although I have a friend who live there and there was a possibility of me buying her house but she has decided to stay put for now and sell next year.

I know Troon relatively well so if you need any info just ask. Rental wise if your looking for a small flat to rent it should be ok a family house is much harder to get

Congratulations on selling your own house, it puts you in a strong position to buy in the New year , although there is always a shortage of supply in January.

I agree with those who say that you you should rent somewhere in the area now and look around . It will be useful for you to see these coastal towns in winter.

She won't answer unfortunately

I wish her well in any small town. We all love cash buyers from the south.

As a Scot who lived in the south-east of England through my 20s before going back home to Scotland, I would recommend that anyone thinking of making a sudden move to Scotland thinks very carefully about what it is they're looking for and prepares for the culture shock and change in weather. Don't make the move solely because houses are cheaper.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. To satisfy people's curiosity:

• I am not English, so the South East/London are not ''my area'' :). I just happen to have lived there for work reasons for a while and have no family ties whatsoever in that region.
• of course I have been to Scotland many times and visited the places I mentioned and also spent time in the countryside there. I have just spent most of September on a horse riding holiday in the middle of nowhere doing hacks in the woods near a tiny Lanarkshire village
• I am from and grew up in a small seaside town myself so want to go back to a similar lifestyle.
• I am a painter and want somewhere with lots of peace and quiet and interesting landscapes to semi-retire and where a single woman can live safely and in peace.
• I actually like the rain and want to move also because I couldn't cope with the temperatures we had last summer.
• Troon was recommended by a Scottish colleague and friend who grew up in the town and still visit it regularly with her Glasgow-based elderly mum who also loves the place, I have friends in Dalgety Bay and I happen to like Dunbar: I think it has a nice community spirit, arty vibe and great commute to Edinburgh if needed.

Hope that answers some of the questions.

I got slightly annoyed that people assumed that I had just picked a random towns on the map, knew nothing about Scotland, had never been to that country or that I was a Londoner who had never seen heavy rain or snow or lived in a small, rural location their entire life....

@Autumnnewname ''I wish her well in any small town. We all love cash buyers from the south.'' Good to know! estate agents have been lovely so far 😁