Visit many mortgage lenders to get the best deal for you. Mortgages are a very personal bit of finance and unique to you. That is why there are so many lenders and types of mortgages, as we all have different requirements.
Typically you will need to find out fixed rate, variable rate, capped rate and so on. Also, you might like to find out about the impact of interest rate rises on your monthly repayments.
The other hidden costs associated with a mortgage might include, valuation costs and arrangement fees. These will vary, not only from lender to lender, but also between products from the same lender.
You must be able to pay for your offer in Scotland so make sure you have a mortgage agreed in principle otherwise your offer might not be taken seriously.
Always try to take a look at a selection of houses in your chosen area. If you are not familiar to the area, ask a few folk what they know. You could try asking the assistant at the petrol station when paying for you fuel for example. It is also a good idea to visit the area at different times of day and night. This way you may see and hear potential problems - such as traffic volumes, any groups that congregate and noises from industry for example.
Usually, when the selling agent has received notice of two or more interested parties, they will announce a closing date by which all offers must be received. It's a 'sealed bids' system, whereby none of the potential buyers know what any of the others have offered, so it's really a guessing game to outbid the competition. This method of selling a property is particularly common when house prices are rising.
You may see 'fixed price' when looking through the property pages in Scotland. This means the seller has already decided what price they want for the property. The first person to accept this price will get the property. This is good in that you know what you are paying and that you will get the property. This method is starting to be more common as property prices start to fall.
Do not forget that solicitors also sell houses in Scotland.