In This Guide

Apply for a mortgage

Buying at auction

Buying in Scotland

   1. Overview of the process

   2. Pre-offer process

   3. Making an offer

   4. Post-offer settlement

Conveyancing

Find and view

Negotiate

Plan your purchase

Success and failure

Surveys and valuations

To buy or not to buy

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Buying in Scotland

Pre-offer process

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The first serious activity that you have to undertake when buying a home in Scotland is to get an agreement in principle for a mortgage. To do this, you have to approach a lender and find out, based on your personal circumstances, how much they would be willing to lend you and how much you feel you can afford. This is no different to getting a mortgage agreement in principle in England or Wales, it is just a little more important that you have done it by the time that you seriously start house hunting.

Next, you should contact a solicitor so that you are ready to make an offer when you find a property that you like. A good place to find a reputable and experienced solicitor is in one of the many Scottish solicitors' property centres listed in the SiteFinder directory. There is some more information about Scottish solicitor's property centres in the How To: Find section of this website.

When you find a new home, contact your solicitor who will in turn contact the solicitor of the selling party and 'note interest' in the property. This means that the seller will not accept any other offer without you having the opportunity to make one yourself.

After you have noted interest, you can make the full application for a mortgage. The lender will also get the valuation done and you will have to pay for this up front. It is generally necessary to have arranged your mortgage and valuation or survey before you make an offer. This is because once the offer is accepted you are contractually obliged to complete the sale - an obligation you only want to take on if you are sure that you have a lender that will provide you with a mortgage for that particular property.

Unfortunately, this means that you have to pay for a survey even if you choose not to pursue your offer, or your offer is rejected. It does mean, however, that you are likely to make a rather more informed offer having read up on the details of the property that may cause you additional expense or detract from its value.

Once the valuation has been satisfactorily completed, the lender will make you a formal mortgage offer. Finally, you can make a bid on the property.

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