Solicitors !

You will need a Solicitor

You will need to appoint a solicitor on your behalf, as you are not able to place offers yourself in Scotland. An offer in Scotland will contain two pieces of information: the amount you are prepared to pay, and the date you wish to move in. It is in fact a contract and if your offer is accepted, then the deal is done.

There is a great deal of certainty when buying a house in Scotland because the offer is in the form of a contract. If the sellers receive more than one offer, they may choose to go to a closing date. This will allow you to increase your offer to what you can reasonably afford.

What does a Solicitor do for your money?

A solicitor performs many task on your behalf and you will need to find out what their charges are. As already mentioned, the offer is a contract and a solicitor would usually charge for drawing up a contract. You might like to find out how much they charge to make an offer for you. After all, if you do not buy the first house you see, the costs can soon add up.

Your solicitor will do the following:

• discuss your needs and explain the procedure for buying a house
• explain the different types of survey and arrange a survey for the house
• inform the seller's solicitor that the client is interested in making an offer for the house
• draw up and submit a formal offer for the property
• check the legal ownership of the property and prepare a deed confirming your ownership. A deed is a document which proves who owns the property
• check the property certificate from the local councils provided by the seller to find out if they are planning any repairs or developments affecting the house
• check any alterations to the house have had planning permission from the local authority
• check the search of the official records carried out by the seller's solicitor to see if there are any problems with the seller's right to sell the property
• receive the money to pay for the purchase and pay it to the seller's solicitor
• check that the house is insured
• negotiate with the seller's solicitor in the event of any dispute.

Need a solicitor? Then you might like to contact:

The Law Society of Scotland
26 Drumsheugh Gardens
Edinburgh
EH3 7YR
Tel: 0131 476 8179
E-mail: lawscot@lawscot.org.uk
Website: www.lawscot.org.uk

An offer is a legal and binding contract in Scotland

There is no gazumping or gazundering in Scotland due to your offer being the contract.