Buying and Selling a property

What does this work involve? 

Residential conveyancing is the transfer of ownership of fixed property – land or residential homes. Sometimes it can also involve questions around boundaries, shared facilities, or public or private rights of way that may have been set up many years ago.

In a standard transfer, the seller must get a home report and then advertise the property for sale so that interested buyers can make offers. The seller can decide to accept an offer at any time or can fix a “closing date” when all offers will be considered. Once an offer has been accepted, a seller's solicitor cannot ask for it to be increased, or accept any other offers.

The seller’s and buyer’s solicitors will agree on the conditions, including any guarantees on the condition of the property, get reports, confirm the financial arrangements, including loan or mortgage arrangements, prepare the paperwork, and discuss the intended date for transfer. They must make sure that all paperwork and financial arrangements are correct, to prevent any problems down the line when the property might be sold again. A binding contract between the seller and buyer is created when the solicitors “exchange missives”. Solicitors usually work to quite tight deadlines, but there might be delays that your own solicitor cannot always prevent. You will need to keep in touch with your solicitor to check whether the transaction is going to be finalised, before finalising your moving arrangements. The two solicitors will agree a time and date when the buyer can collect the keys to the property. A buyer will usually be given a certain number of days to check that everything is as expected in their new property, and to report back any problems to the seller.

Conveyancing can also involve the registration (or cancellation) of mortgages and other deeds of security. These documents protect lenders because they make sure that the property cannot be sold without repaying any outstanding loans over the property. Although the buyer deals with a solicitor for a mortgage or re-mortgage, the solicitor gets the final instructions on dates and conditions from the lender. Although a solicitor will try to finalise the transaction on the date requested, they cannot always guarantee that they will get the final instruction from the lender on a precise date.

Commercial conveyancing involves the transfer of rights relating to commercial premises, as well as many leases. This short guide does not cover this type of work.

Must I use a solicitor?

Conveyancing must be done by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer (there are very few of these in Scotland) so you cannot do it yourself. Each person usually has their own solicitor, to avoid conflicts of interest. Many solicitors will be members of the Solicitors Property Centre network throughout Scotland or can also be estate agents. 

• If you are a seller, it is possible that your solicitor’s firm also marketed the property. The estate agency instruction is separate from any conveyancing instruction.   
• If you are a buyer, it is usual, in Scotland, to use a solicitor to make your offer. If you did not, or if you switched solicitors during the transaction, you will need to update them on any background history.

What should I do before the first meeting?  

If you want to compare quotations for conveyancing work from solicitors’ websites or other information, it’s important to check that the quotations cover the same aspects. In addition to solicitors’ fees, you will need to pay VAT and other costs such as property taxes and searches, bank transfer fees, registration dues, and maybe special reports.

You should ask what documents you need to bring to the first meeting, because your solicitor has to carry out some checks on your identity and your funding.

The seller must usually arrange for a Home Report. Their surveyor, not their solicitor, is responsible for the information included in that report. The buyer must read, check and query anything that doesn’t seem right from their own viewing of the property. A buyer’s solicitor will not usually visit the property. So, a potential buyer should do as much research as they can and ask their solicitor if they think that extra surveys or reports need to be done. Offers can be made subject to a good result from those extra checks.

 If you are the buyer, decide who is to be registered as the owner of the property. If you are the seller, you must involve any other co-owners and tell your solicitor of any special arrangements that are already in place to split the sale price at the end of the transaction.   

What will it cost? 

Some firms offer a free consultation, so it’s worth checking whether this applies to you. You could use this opportunity to find out more about putting in an offer, what will happen next, or what you will be charged. Many firms do conveyancing for a fixed fee, which is intended to cover the work involved in a normal transaction. If any surveys or searches show anything unusual, or any extra work that is needed to correct a mistake made when the property was transferred previously, the fee may change. You should be told about the extra costs if this is the case. 

As we mentioned earlier, you will need to pay some other charges. If you don’t already know about these from a quotation or the solicitor’s website, you should always discuss this at your first meeting. Solicitors must also tell you about the fees in their terms of business, so make sure that you read and understand this document. It might include a list of potential extra charges, or an hourly rate for any extra work that becomes necessary. Your solicitor should tell you as soon as anything happens that affects the final amount you need to pay.

If a purchase falls through, a solicitor is entitled to be paid for the work they have already done, but you can ask for details to understand how far they have gone with the work.

The fee quoted often does not include what is called “post-completion” work, such as reporting and correcting defects, or further communication with sellers or lenders.   

Can I get legal aid? 

No. Legal aid is not available for conveyancing work. 

How long will it take? 

Your solicitor will be able to give you a rough idea of how long the transaction might take and will take this into account when you agree the likely date for finalisation and exchange of keys.     Some transactions involve linked “chains”. These happen when one or both people need to sell one property before buying another, and want these transactions to be finalised at around the same time. Sometimes a property can be tied up in a deceased estate, which means that certain requirements must be finalised before the transfer can happen. These transactions are more complicated and can take longer. If anything goes wrong at some point in the chain, it can cause a delay to you. Your solicitor might not be able to do anything to prevent the delay, but they should tell you as soon as they know that the timeframes could change, and give you advice on your best options. 

What happens next? 

Your solicitor must provide you with Terms of Business, setting out what they will do, what the costs will be, what they expect from you and what you can do if you are not happy. It’s very important to read this carefully, ask if there’s anything you don’t understand, and keep it safe.

You should also read, check and keep safe any other information and reports that are sent while the solicitor is dealing with your work. Again, always ask for an explanation if you come across legal language that you don’t understand.

If you are buying a property, you should also check whether there are factoring or maintenance fees for the property. If you are selling a property where there is a factor, tell your solicitor if you have been told about any planned maintenance or factoring increases, because this will need to be disclosed.

Some firms have client portals where you can check the progress online. If they don’t or if you prefer not to use this, agree when and how you will get updates. Make sure that you provide the best contact details and respond to messages quickly, as your solicitor often has to stick to tight deadlines.

If you are a seller, make sure you are clear as to where and when you get your payment once the sale is finalised.

You should never get or give any information about bank details or payments in an email. Solicitors should only give and receive details about payments and accounts by phone, letter or in person, to reduce the risk of fraud by hackers.  

You should not directly contact the other party involved, or their solicitor. All communication should be done via your own solicitor. Conflicting information can cause problems down the line.