Buying a home in Scotland follows a genuinely different path from England — solicitor-led, built around the seller’s Home Report, and legally binding earlier in the process. If you are buying north of the border for the first time, or moving up from England, the unfamiliar terms — “offers over”, “noting interest”, “missives”, “date of entry” — can be daunting. This guide walks through the process step by step and explains what each stage means for your money and your risk.
A typical Scottish purchase runs like this:
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Arrange finance | Get a mortgage agreement in principle and appoint a Scottish solicitor, who runs the purchase for you. |
| 2. Find a property | Search (often via a regional solicitors’ property centre or portal). The seller’s Home Report gives you condition, valuation and disclosures before you offer. |
| 3. Note interest | Your solicitor formally notes interest with the seller’s agent, so you’re told if a closing date is set. |
| 4. Closing date & offer | For popular homes a closing date is set for best bids. Your solicitor submits a written offer (price and date of entry) by the deadline. |
| 5. Missives | If accepted, solicitors exchange formal letters (missives) resolving all terms until they are concluded — the binding point. |
| 6. Date of entry | On the agreed date of entry (completion) funds transfer, you get the keys, and your solicitor pays LBTT and registers the title. |
Many Scottish homes are marketed at “offers over” a figure — a deliberately conservative price set below the Home Report valuation to invite competitive bids. It is not the price you will pay: in a strong market, properties can sell well above it. Your anchor for a sensible bid is the Home Report valuation and recent sold prices, not the “offers over” headline — and remember that your lender will generally lend only against the valuation, so any premium you pay above it must come from your own cash. Some homes, especially from builders, are sold at a fixed price instead, where the first acceptable offer secures it.
The contract in Scotland is formed through missives — the exchange of formal letters between the two solicitors. Your solicitor makes a written offer; the seller’s solicitor issues a qualified acceptance; further letters settle conditions such as fixtures, the date of entry and any repairs. When everything is agreed, the missives are concluded — and that is the point the deal becomes legally binding on both sides. This happens earlier than England’s exchange of contracts, and it cuts both ways: it largely removes gazumping (a seller cannot simply accept a higher offer once missives conclude), but it also means you should have your mortgage confirmed and your Home Report and any survey concerns resolved before conclusion, because pulling out afterwards carries financial penalties.
Beyond the deposit, budget for: LBTT (Scotland’s stamp duty — and the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement if it is a second home or buy-to-let), covered in full in our LBTT guide; solicitor’s fees and registration dues; and your own survey if you want more than the Home Report’s Single Survey. The Home Report itself is the seller’s cost, which saves buyers a survey fee compared with England. Size the whole picture against your income with how much can I borrow and the affordability calculator, and see the wider list in the full cost of buying a house.
Three differences matter most. First, information comes up front: the seller’s Home Report means you assess condition and value before offering, not after. Second, it binds earlier: conclusion of missives is firm, where England’s pre-exchange period lets either side walk away. Third, “offers over” pricing changes how you bid — you compete against a valuation and a closing date rather than negotiating down from an asking price. The mortgage itself works much as it does elsewhere in the UK; it is the process and the tax that differ, which is why we cover LBTT and the Home Report in their own guides.
Solicitor-led, with a seller-provided Home Report, “offers over” bidding and a closing date, and a binding point at conclusion of missives — earlier and firmer than England’s exchange, which largely removes gazumping.
A marketing price set below the Home Report valuation to invite competitive bids. Homes often sell above it; bid against the valuation and sold prices, since your lender lends against the valuation.
The formal letters exchanged between solicitors that form the contract. When agreed on all terms they are “concluded” — the legally binding point.
At conclusion of missives, usually weeks before you move in — earlier than England. Have your mortgage and survey concerns resolved before then, as pulling out carries penalties.
The Scottish term for completion — the day you get the keys. LBTT must be paid within 30 days of it.