• Agreement in Principle
• Appointing a Solicitor
• Valuation and Surveys
• Making an Offer
• Exchange of Missives
• Searches
• Missives Concluded
• Completion

The first important thing to get in place before you start house-hunting in Scotland is an agreement in principle for your mortgage. This is confirmation from your lender that, subject to various conditions, they are prepared to give you a mortgage up to a certain amount. Any offers you make on properties in the absence of this agreement are unlikely to be taken very seriously.

Solicitors play a much greater role in the buying and selling of homes in Scotland than they do south of the border, due to the earlier commitment to buy. In fact, the solicitor will often act as the selling agent for a property rather than an estate agent.

As a buyer, you will need to appoint a solicitor before, or as soon as, you see a property you want to make an offer on. When you see something you like, ask your solicitor to 'note interest' for you with the selling agent. A note of interest simply indicates that you are interested in the property and wish to be kept informed of developments, such as the fixing of a closing date for offers. It does not oblige you to buy or commit you in any other way.

Before making an offer you must have a valuation or survey done (and have the necessary finance), as your offer in writing is legally binding once it's accepted. This will give you an independent valuation and will tell you about the condition of the property. However, because you need to pay for a survey at this point, it does mean that you will end up losing money on the survey costs if your offer is not accepted.

There are no licensed conveyancers in Scotland. Because solicitors do all the conveyancing and are so involved in the process, they will often instruct a surveyor on your behalf.

After the vendor's solicitor has received notification of interest from two or more buyers, they will announce a closing date by which all of the offers must be received. Most property in Scotland is advertised as 'offers above a certain price' (a sealed bid system), for example, offers above £150,000, which is called the 'upset' price. These asking prices are usually set low to attract potential buyers, and the actual selling price is usually about 5-30% higher. As a result, it can be difficult to know where to pitch an offer as you don't want to lose a property for the sake of a few hundred or thousand pounds, but on the other hand, you don't want to offer over the odds. You should discuss any offer with your solicitor and try pitching it slightly above a round figure, e.g. £220,310 rather than £220,000. As each potential buyer can only bid once, it is important to think very carefully about what size offer to make and get it right first time.

Properties may also be offered at a fixed price, where the first reasonable offer is accepted. If there is a closing date for offers, all interested parties must make sealed bids, which are opened on that date - the vendor normally accepting the highest bid. They can, however, reject all offers, although this rarely happens.

Your formal offer will come by letter, through solicitor, and will include any items such as fixtures and fittings. The letter forms part of the contract of sale. Your solicitor will also advise a 'date of entry', which is equivalent to the completion date used in England and Wales (i.e. the date when you will be given the keys to your new home).

It's virtually impossible to be gazumped in Scotland, as once an offer in writing has been accepted it's legally binding and you cannot pull out. This is why it's vital that you have a valuation or survey done (and have the necessary finance) before making an offer. There are no deposits involved unless you are buying a new property, however, if either you or the seller pulls out after this point, you (or they) will be liable for any losses the other party may have incurred.

If your offer is accepted, a formal letter called 'qualified acceptance' is returned by the vendor's solicitor, confirming or amending the conditions. These formal letters are referred to as missives and may go back and forth for clarification. A formal moving in date is set which makes it easier to co-ordinate a sale and purchase, and removes some of the problems of being in a chain.

Whilst the missives are being exchanged, your solicitor will investigate a number of matters concerning the property and its title. These searches make sure that the vendor has a good title to the property and that you can grant security for the loan. A local authority search is also carried out to ensure that there are no proposed developments that would affect the property. Your solicitor will then initiate proceedings towards settlement (completion), which is usually four to five weeks after acceptance of an offer.

Once all the conditions are agreed, it is said that missives are concluded, which means that you and the vendor have entered into a legally binding contract. This is similar to exchanging contracts under the English system.

Once an offer has been accepted and the missives (contracts) concluded, you will be responsible for insuring the property, although it is often usual for an agreement to be made in the missives that the vendor remains liable until the date of entry.

You should forward all the funds to buy the property, together with all the fees to your solicitor the day before your date of entry. On completion day, settlement takes place whereby the solicitors acting for the two parties meet and exchange a cheque for the keys. You will then sign the title deed to the property and the vendor's solicitor will hand over the 'disposition document', which legally transfers ownership of the property to you.

After completion, you pay your solicitor's fees, stamp duty and registration fees for the disposition (the legal document that transfers ownership), which is registered with the General Register of Sasines or the Land Register of Scotland.