Everyone has an idea of what their dream house will be like, but the process of actually buying that perfect home can be quite the reality check – especially if you are a first time buyer in Scotland.
When you first enter the property market, you can be overwhelmed by the jargon and legalities that surround the world of house hunting, and it can seem as if like rules and regulations are always changing.
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To make it simpler to understand for all you first time buyers out there, we caught up with Brian Sutton, Partner at James & George Collie Solicitors and an expert on buying and selling houses in Scotland.
Brian answered all of your burning questions about how to go about buying a house in Scotland, and even a few questions that might not even occurred to you before now too!
7 questions every first time buyer in Scotland must ask!
What first steps should I take to make buying my house go as seamlessly as possible?
The first steps you should take is to secure a Mortgage in Principle and hire a solicitor. A solicitor can advise right away about any queries you may have about a particular property or about the house buying process. The Mortgage in Principle allows you to know what price range you are able to look at when searching for a home, so that you are not looking at properties of around £200,000 when you are more likely be approved for a mortgage that only goes up to £120,000, for example. A solicitor will often know and work alongside mortgage advisors, and so can recommend or get other people involved if needed as the house buying process progresses.
How do I work out what I can afford?
The best thing to do is to get an independent mortgage advisor in place. A lot of first time buyers go straight to their bank, especially if they have never had dealings with anybody else before. They assume it is a safe bet as their bank already knows their financial history and can see money going into their accounts, and so think it will be less hassle. That approach has drawbacks, however, because your bank can only offer their own deals and rates, which often are not the best out there. If you go to a mortgage advisor, whether directly or through the recommendation of your solicitor, you have the entire market to search from and they can secure the best deal for you. It will also allow you to confirm how much you are able to borrow, as one bank may let you borrow more than another.
Are there any common pitfalls I can avoid when buying my first home?
Overvaluation offers have become a bit of an issue recently because the property market has heated up over the last year or so. If a property’s home report values it at £150,000 but you are offering £160,000, you need to find that extra £10,000 yourself, plus your deposit, even if your mortgage promise states that the lender will give you up to £180,000. This is because your mortgage provider will only loan you the value of the house – the valuation of the property is the driver for the bank. Being careful with the numbers is important, and you should only look at properties that are within an affordable range for you.
Are there any common misconceptions/myths about buying a home, especially from first time buyers?
A common thing people think is that when they see a property listed as ‘Offers Over’, that they actually have to offer over the listed price, but that is not true. If a property is on the market, and has been for a few months, you can certainly get that property for under the asking price – ‘Offers Over’ is not set in stone.
Another common misconception is that people often think that as soon as they put in an offer they are in a binding contract and that they cannot get out of it, but this is not the case. You are not in a contract until your mortgage offer comes through, and you do not need to have the mortgage ready to go as soon as you put an offer in, as you have not done a deal yet. What you have to do is agree on a price with the seller, then get your mortgage in place. If something was to go wrong with the mortgage application during the ‘Under Offer’ period, you can pull out of the deal without penalty.
Are there any differences in legislation when it comes to buying a home in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK?
The legal systems are totally different, so yes, there is. In England, you have things like Leaseholds and Freeholds, but in Scotland, we do not have either. Instead, we have Absolute Ownership, in which the buyer always owns the property outright, which makes it a bit simpler. In England, they tend not to have fixed times of entry, while in Scotland, a fixed entry date is one of the first things to be agreed upon and so it is a lot more structured here in Scotland. As a result of that, because we are working towards a fixed entry date, contracts tend to be tied up quicker than they are in England.
Are there any benefits to buying a new build over an older property?
If you buy a new property, it is fresh out of the box and should not have anything wrong with it. Even if there is something wrong with it, you tend to have a 10-year building insurance that the developer has taken out, which you would not get in an older property. You also tend to have factoring arrangements with new build properties, meaning that all residents pay a fee towards the maintenance of the building and/ or area, which you often do not get with older buildings.
What should I be looking out for to make sure that the area of the house I am looking at is in a nice area to live?
If you are new to the area, you can always ask the solicitor for their opinion and they can advise on that basis. If a property is roughly the same size as another in a different area, but their prices are drastically different, they property that is less expensive is probably located in a less desirable area. Scout the area out yourself and visit it at different times, as I have had clients who have pulled out of deals once they had observed the property they were going to buy at a different time of day or at the weekend. Joining local community pages on social media sites is also a good way to scope out if there are any problems in the area.
For more First Time Buyer guidance and advice, visit the James & George Collie Solicitors and Estate Agents website.
