Buying a House Conveyancing Solicitors in Glasgow, Scotland 

When you are considering buying a new home, most houses that are put up for sale are required by law to provide prospective buyers with the details of the property, before any offer to purchase is made. This is called the Home Report.

The Home Report is a combination of three different kinds of documents:

1. Single Survey

This sets out the value of the property that has been set down by surveyors employed by the sellers. It will also include details about the condition of the house. You, as a buyer, may want to consider getting your own survey of the property done by a Property Surveyor before you make any offers.

2. Energy Report

The Energy Report details how environmentally friendly the house is, and how efficient it is in terms of using energy.

3. Property Questionnaire

This will lay out the council tax band of the property, alongside any conditions attached to the property regarding future alterations to the building.

It will normally be after having reviewed the findings of the Home Report that you will be in a better position to decide if you want to make an offer on a property.

When you identify a property that you think would meet your needs, and after you have read and understood the Home Report, the next step is to consider your options on how you are going to finance the purchase. All mortgage providers will take security over the property in exchange for them giving you the mortgage. There are two ways that this can be done:

• Get a mortgage

This will involve approaching a bank or other mortgage provider, and asking them if they would lend you the money to purchase the property. We will also guide you through the legal process.

All mortgage providers will need to know details of the property that you are interested in. You will also be asked to provide some personal details regarding your finances before a mortgage lender agrees to lend you any money.

• Pay for the house from your personal finances

An alternative to getting a loan to purchase a new property is to fund the purchase privately. Most people will not have such vast sums of money available to buy their new home outright, and so will opt for a loan or mortgage instead.

After you have found a property that you would like to buy, and you have the finances in place, the next step is to make an offer on the property. An offer must be made by a solicitor on your behalf.

Making an offer on a property does not mean that it will be accepted straight away. If a property is on sale for a ‘fixed price’ then a seller is likely to accept the first offer of this price. However if a property is advertised for ‘offers over’ then they will likely be looking to be offered a price above that which is advertised: they will be able to refuse your offer if they believe it to be too low. This may involve some negotiation before agreement is reached.

If your offer is accepted then you will need to arrange for ownership in the new property to be transferred to you. This is called ‘concluding the missives’ and will involve the creation of a ‘disposition’ which will name you as the new owner of the property. There will be a lot of paperwork involved when an offer to buy a new property is accepted, and this paperwork will include a date and time when you will be able to enter your new home. This will all be dealt with on your behalf by your solicitors.

Buying a new property can seem like a complicated affair, involving a lot of paperwork and negotiation. However provided that you take your time and ensure that you are properly advised throughout the transaction, the process will be very simple.