The realities and practicalities of chains in Scottish conveyancing
Key Takeaways
- Property chains can add stress and delays to buying and selling, but preparing early and working closely with your solicitor can help keep the process moving.
- If buying before selling, have your home ready to market quickly, as sellers often allow only 4–6 weeks to secure a buyer when accepting an offer subject to sale.
- Mortgage approvals can take around six weeks, so speaking to a broker early helps ensure finance is in place and avoids delays during the purchase process.
- Clear communication between buyers, sellers, solicitors and brokers helps manage expectations and keeps everyone informed throughout the transaction.
- Missives form the legal contract in Scottish property sales and often conclude close to settlement, meaning some delays are normal even late in the process.
Laura Buchanan, senior solicitor at Thorntons Law LLP, explains the realities and practicalities of chains in Scottish Conveyancing.
Buying and selling property is arguably one of the most stressful processes you will complete in your lifetime, and being involved in a property chain can exacerbate this.
However, it is not all doom and gloom. There are things that can be done by both you and your conveyancing solicitor to help ease the process when buying and selling a home in Scotland...
Selling first when part of a property chain
It is often the case that clients do not wish to sell until they have secured a property to buy. Whilst this is logical, it can cause delays in a Scottish property chain, particularly if the client has not yet marketed their home.
It is worth noting that most sellers will place a timescale of 4–6 weeks when accepting an Offer subject to sale, to allow time for the property to be marketed and an Offer received.
The typical process of marketing a property in Scotland can take a few weeks to organise. To help minimise delays, ensure that you have instructed an estate agent and have your property prepared to go on the market. Inevitable delays will occur between the point of marketing and obtaining an Offer, however if the property is ready to market this will help shave a few weeks off this delay.
Caution must also be exercised where the Offer received is also subject to the buyer selling their own property. It is prudent to check with the prospective purchaser to establish how far they are in the process of marketing their own home.
Mortgages and the impact on the conveyancing process
The typical mortgage application can take up to six weeks from application to receiving loan papers. A property transaction in Scotland cannot complete without your solicitor having a full Offer of Loan in hand, as your Offer will be subject to your lending being in place.
The best way to minimise delays with this process is to seek advice from a mortgage broker at the very start of your home buying journey. An experienced mortgage broker is essential, as they will provide detailed advice throughout the process and assist you with all documentation required to ensure that your mortgage application is dealt with swiftly.
Why communication is essential in a property chain
As with all things in life, communication is key.
Clear lines of communication should be open between all parties in the property buying and selling chain, from the client to the mortgage broker, to the conveyancing solicitor, and then on to the other side.
By doing this, it helps each party manage expectations about when key stages of the property transaction will be reached and also assists in predicting when settlement will occur.
Even advising that there has been no progression helps give the parties peace of mind that the wheels are still turning in the background.
Understanding delays in missives
Even with the best will in the world, sometimes delays are inevitable.
Missives are the legal contract used in Scottish conveyancing for the sale or purchase of property. These are formal letters exchanged by your conveyancer on your behalf and culminate in a final letter concluding the bargain. Until the final bargain letter is received, the legal contract for the sale of property is not finalised and there is the risk that the sale or purchase can fall through.
Missives typically do not conclude until a few weeks before settlement and, at the latest, can be concluded right up until the day of settlement. Whilst this can sound very stressful, you can mostly have peace of mind that as long as all parties are communicating and the conveyancing transaction is progressing, settlement will occur as planned – even if it is slightly delayed by a few days.
Managing property chains in the Scottish property market
Chains are not the preferred type of transaction in most cases however they are becoming more common, and it is clear steps can be taken to diminish delays caused.