The Scottish Legal System

Scotland has a different legal system to that of the rest of the UK and this affects property transactions, something buyers must be aware of.

Scottish land agents are of the opinion that the legal framework for purchasing land in Scotland is a "Cleaner and Clearer" system. In Scotland land tends to be marketed at an "offers over" or "upset" price, this is the price that the seller would not expect to sell below.
After an appropriate date and dependant on the level of interest a closing date for offers may be set.
At any stage up until the closing date a pre-emptive offer may be accepted by the seller.
At a closing date written offers are invited - these offers must be in Scottish Legal Form and be prepared by a Scottish Solicitor.

The offer takes the form of a document setting out the terms of purchase and generally considers the following:

"Best and Final" offers are submitted at the closing date, these are then considered by the seller and an acceptance issued to the most favourable offer.

Once the offer has been accepted the selling solicitor issues a qualified acceptance - this is the initial stage of concluding the missives. The offer and acceptance usually need to be qualified several times before the bargain is concluded - this can take up to three weeks. During this time the seller cannot deal with other parties even though the farm is technically not sold.

Once both parties' solicitors have agreed to conclude the missives the deal then becomes legally binding at which point 10% of the purchase price is required.

Failure to pay the deposit or settle the deal will result in the purchaser being liable to penalties including the subsequent losses incurred in the resale of the property.

Related documents:

Scottish Legal System (35.4 kb)
Scottish Legal System