Making sure you pay the right price for you dream property can be a bit of a balancing act. Understanding your budget, knowing the market and getting advice from your mortgage adviser, including which solicitor to choose, is the best place to start.
The Scottish property market works differently from the rest of the UK, so it's important to get advice from specialists in the Scottish market.
Properties are sold at an 'offers over' price
Most properties are on the market with an 'offers over' price. This means the seller is hoping to sell for anything over this price.
Making sure you do your research and study the market is key to making sure you make the best possible offer. Go too low and your offer may be rejected by the seller. Go too high and you may overpay for the property.
Get the right advice
Lots of the advice available online talks about the buying process in England and Wales, which makes it irrelevant for Scottish buyers. It's helpful to get advice from someone that knows the market in your area very well.
Our expert mortgage advisers, or your solicitor, can help with advice about what's going on in the market, what properties are going for in the area you're looking to move to, and help with any questions you may have about the Home Report for the property you're interested in.
Send a note of interest
Once you've decided you're interested in a property you need to notify the seller that you're keen. Your solicitor will send a formal Note of Interest to the seller's agent to indicate your interest and that you wish to be kept abreast of developments.
A Note of Interest does not oblige you to buy, or even to submit an offer. More importantly, your solicitor may be made aware of the number of Notes of Interest that have been made on a property, to help you gauge how popular the property is proving.
Making the offer
Once you've decided what offer you want to make, your solicitor will send it over to the seller's agent. Verbal agreements are non-binding, so your offer will need to be sent over in writing by a solicitor to move the process forward.
The offer will include the price you're willing to pay, the date of entry and any extra items you want as part of the sale. Also, a time limit for acceptance of your offer is usually included.
Having your offer accepted
If your offer is accepted your solicitor will receive notification of formal acceptance from the seller's representative. This may include any qualifications which apply to some of the terms of the offer they received from you. Again, your solicitor will discuss these qualifications with you to ensure you're happy with them. The back and forth of these terms are known as the 'missives'.
The missives are concluded when the final acceptance is issued. At this point you and the seller are in a legally binding contract.
Now it's time to celebrate!
If you're looking for a property but aren't sure what you can afford, get in touch with us and we can help you arrange a mortgage in principle.