Watermans: Straightforward Estate Agency and Conveyancing Glossary

Buying or selling property can be a daunting task. To make things that bit more straightforward, our team have put together a list of the most common estate agency and conveyancing terms that you may come across during the process.

Having an understanding of the most common terms will help to fill you with confidence and certainty, in turn allowing you to make informed property decisions.

Buying and selling property in Scotland

Before you buy or sell a property in Scotland, it’s important to understand what these terms mean.

  • Residential conveyancing is the term for the legal process of buying or selling a residential property
  • A Mortgage in Principle is an estimate from a lender of how much you can borrow to buy a house. This can also be known as an Agreement in Principle
  • If you find a property that you are interested in buying, your solicitor can place a note of interest on your behalf to let the sellers know that you want to be kept in the loop about the sale of the property
  • A Home Report is a three-part document detailing what you need to know about a property that is for sale. If you are selling your house, you are required to produce a Home Report by law
  • An EWS1 Form is a document that assesses how at-risk to fire the external wall of a building are. This is completed by a qualified engineer or surveyor, and some lenders now require this document as proof before they approve a mortgage for buyers hoping to purchase a property with cladding in Scotland
Categories

LBTT and ADS

What is LBTT?

LBTT (Land and Buildings Transaction Tax) is a tax that you are required to pay when you buy a house. The tax is also levied on commercial purchases and commercial leases. If you are a first-time buyer, you are exempt from paying this tax if the price of the property you are buying does not exceed £175,000.

What is ADS?

ADS (The Additional Dwelling Supplement) is a tax applied when you buy an additional home in Scotland, if you do not replace your main residence. The tax will also apply if you purchase a property in your limited company. The rate of this tax is currently 8% of the total purchase price of a property, and will be paid in conjunction with LBTT. The Additional Dwelling Supplement is a complex tax, so it’s important to seek advice on this at the earliest opportunity.

Scottish Property Pricing

If you are browsing properties for sale, knowing the pricing strategies and what each property status means can help speed up the process

Offers over

  • Offers over is a property pricing strategy where the seller is inviting higher offers than the price stated for the property they are selling

Fixed price

  • If a house is on the market for a fixed price, this means that the seller is likely to accept an offer on the property of that exact price

Under Offer

  • When a property is marked “under offer”, this means that a verbal agreement on the sale of the home has been made and no further viewings are being carried out. This isn’t a legally binding agreement until missives are concluded
Image shows young couple to the bak ground of the photo. The woman is holding out her hand and someone who is slightly out of frame is handing her a set of house keys. The couple are smiling and look excited.

Making or accepting an offer

Closing Date: A closing date is the deadline by which you must submit your offer on a property. You only get one chance to submit an offer at a closing date.

Missives: Missives are the formal legal documents outlining the contract between the buyers and sellers of a property. When both parties are in agreement on price and other conditions, and the missives are signed by your solicitors, this is known as conclusion of missives.

Date of Entry: The date of entry is the date agreed by the buyer and seller of a property, where funds and legal ownership of the property are exchanged and the keys received by the new owner.

Get in touch with us

Everything we do at Watermans is about getting you the resolution you need and making that process straightforward. Start the process by sending us your details below or calling us on 0131 555 7055

Our property expert

“My clients would describe me as being approachable, down to earth and easy to get on with. This allows me to build relationships with my clients and provide straightforward legal advice without all the jargon.”

Shawn Wood, Head of Conveyancing