The way we buy and sell houses in Scotland is very sensible.
I am seeing an estate agent today about the sale of a property I used to live in before I moved where I am now. I’ve lived in three houses in the village. If I shouted really loudly, we could all communicate- like the way folk yodel through the Alps. The yodelling could be useful as the mobile phone signal here is useless. I have to hang out the window to use the moby. And we only have internet at the front of the house.
So, here’s how we sell houses.
The internet says that ‘the house buying process
follows a system to designed to provide ‘efficiency and transparency’. I’d say
that used to be the case, once the deal had been agreed, even verbally – that was
that’ - no gazumping as they do down south, but things are changing a little.
When I bought the house I am in now, all the interested
parties had to get individual surveys. Now, the vendor gets a Home Report, which
is like a state of health report on the house, plus an Energy Performance
Certificate (EPC) and a Property
Questionnaire with additional information, such as council tax band and any
alterations made to the property, any burdens on the property, and for my
village… any mining underneath.
While the
vendor is doing that, the buyer gets a mortgage in principle. In the bad old
days, before 2008, it was possible (but not sensible) to get a loan for 6x or 7x their annual salary. Much tighter controls exist now.
We must appoint a solicitor early in the process;
they do all the work, the estate agent really just sells the property.
The estate agent will advise me, and we decide on an
‘offers over ‘ price. If we get lots of viewers and there are lots of ‘notes of
interest’ (when one solicitor says to
the other ‘my client is very interested so keep me posted on any developments’
) we will then ‘go to closing’. The solicitor says all bids should be in by 12
noon Friday. At 11.59 bids are emailed
in. In the old days it was the opening of envelopes. The solicitor advises the vendor
of the monies offered and the position of
that purchaser. I didn’t make the highest bid when I bought this house, the vendor was a writer and knew me, and that I
was ‘chain free’. Other potential buyers
wanted to turn the house into flats, ( that would need planning permission
which is very expensive) and others found out about Agnes the poltergeist and
withdrew. I knew about her in advance so I was okay with that.
If there is little interest, the property can be
put on at a fixed price which can be useful for those who have bid many times,
and ran up big bills with the solicitor, but keep getting pipped at the post. First
secure offer of X gets the property.
The
missives are concluded and the transaction becomes legally binding, reducing
the risk of gazumping. In my previous experience, missives get exchanged quite
early on so you can go round and measure up for curtains and carpets before the
move in date. Now, I believe missives are exchanged minutes before the keys get
handed over so the risk of a vendor accepting a higher bid, or a purchaser pulling
out is greater than it used to be,
Once
missives are exchanged, the title deeds are transferred and everybody moves. Or
as we call it, ‘flitting’.
The house I’m selling is quite unusual as you see in the pictures, not everybody’s cup of tea.
It’s called Kirklea East, as it lies in
the lea of the kirk – the shadow of the
church. It was the house of the main estate worker so it has lovely high ceilings
and big fireplaces, all rather grand. The upper floor of the house is the size
of the living room.
And the church bells do
ring at 11 am every Sunday.
And William Wallace was
born at the bottom of the garden.
What more could you want?
Posts
