How Buying a Home in Scotland Works: Offers, Missives and Date of Entry

Buying in Scotland is a legal process built around your solicitor. You find a home, your solicitor submits a formal offer, the two sides' solicitors agree terms in writing (the missives), and once those are concluded the sale is legally binding. You get the keys on the agreed date of entry. The order of events differs from England, where either side can usually withdraw until contracts are exchanged.

The steps in order

1. Agree your borrowing. Get a lender's decision in principle before you start searching in earnest, so you know your ceiling.
2. Instruct a solicitor early. The Law Society of Scotland advises against making an offer without one, because you could end up bound to a poor price or without key protections.
3. Note your interest. Your solicitor tells the selling agent you are interested. This does not commit you to buy and does not stop the seller selling to someone else.
4. Read the Home Report. The seller must provide it. See the Home Report explained.
5. Make an offer. Your solicitor advises on the amount and submits it formally.
6. Qualified acceptance and missives. The seller's acceptance is usually given verbally and then in writing as a 'qualified acceptance'. The solicitors then exchange letters until every point is agreed.
7. Concluded missives. Once the final letter is accepted, a binding contract exists even though you have not signed anything.
8. Title checks, funds and settlement. Your solicitor checks the title deeds, prepares the transfer documents and arranges payment. The sale settles on the date of entry.
9. After settlement. Your solicitor deals with Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) and registration at Registers of Scotland.

'Offers over', fixed prices and closing dates

Homes are advertised either at a fixed price or at 'offers over' a figure. 'Offers over' is a starting point, not a cap, and the figure is frequently set close to the Home Report valuation. Where several buyers are interested, the seller's solicitor may set a closing date, which is a deadline for formal offers. Buyers submit offers through their solicitors by that deadline and the seller then chooses.

Citizens Advice Scotland points out that a seller can pick any offer, not necessarily the highest, so price is not the only lever. Entry date, conditions and how secure your finance looks can all count. A closing date also does not oblige anyone to accept anything.

Missives: when you become bound

Missives are a series of formal letters between solicitors. Until the last one is accepted and everything is agreed in writing, either side can still walk away. Once missives are concluded, neither can withdraw without penalty, and paying late can trigger financial penalties under the contract.

That makes timing important. Before your solicitor concludes missives you should have your mortgage offer, you should have read the Home Report and any survey, and you should be comfortable with the title burdens your solicitor has reported, such as restrictions on alterations or parking and obligations to share repair costs. ESPC notes that missives typically take from a few days to several weeks, with mortgage approvals, survey results and legal checks causing delays.

Date of entry and settlement

The date of entry is the day the sale settles: the seller's solicitor delivers the signed disposition (the deed transferring ownership), the price is paid and the keys are handed over. If you have a mortgage you also sign a standard security in the lender's favour. Afterwards your solicitor submits the LBTT return and registers your ownership. The Law Society suggests arranging insurance for the property and making or updating your will at this point; see home insurance when buying in Scotland.

Funds from solicitors can take time to clear, and the Law Society notes that clearing can take three to five working days in some cases, so avoid planning a same-day removal around a late payment. If you are costing the whole process, the costs of buying a home in Scotland lists what to put aside.

Mistakes that cost buyers money

• Bidding before your mortgage position is confirmed.
• Treating 'offers over' as the likely final price without checking recent sales nearby.
• Concluding missives before you have a mortgage offer in hand.
• Not asking your solicitor to explain title burdens and shared-repair obligations, particularly for flats.
• Assuming a quoted legal fee includes outlays and VAT without checking.

Buying and selling at the same time

If you are selling a home to fund the next one, the two dates of entry need to line up. Solicitors commonly try to agree matching dates in each set of missives, but a delay on one side can ripple through the other. Talk to your solicitor before you make an offer about how much flexibility you have, if you could afford a short overlap, and what happens if your own buyer is late. Never conclude the purchase missives until your own sale is secure unless you are certain you can fund both homes for a period.

Timescales vary widely with the property, the lender and how quickly each side answers letters. Treat any timetable as a plan rather than a promise, and keep your moving date flexible until missives are concluded and a date of entry is written down.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Your solicitor can explain how each step applies to your purchase.