Your offer has been accepted. The champagne is open. Someone is already measuring for curtains. Hold that thought. In Scotland, an accepted offer is good news, but it is not a done deal. Nothing is legally binding until the solicitors on both sides conclude the missives, and you do not actually own the property until your title is registered. None of this is complicated once you know the order of play. Here is what really happens between "we love it" and "we live here", who does what, and where people most often come unstuck.

The whole thing in six steps

  1. Get ready. Sellers get a

  2. Home Report. Buyers get their finances lined up.

  3. Make (or receive) an offer. Always in writing, always through a solicitor.

  4. Conclude missives. This is the moment the deal becomes binding.

  5. The legal legwork. Title checks, searches and paperwork, mostly out of sight.

  6. Settlement. Money one way, keys the other.

  7. Tidy up. Tax return filed and your ownership registered.

1. Get ready: the homework stage

The smoothest transactions are won here, before anyone has viewed anything.

If you are selling

  • Appoint your solicitor and selling agent early. Not the week you want to go on the market.

  • Order a Home Report. Unless your property is exempt, you need one before marketing. It has three parts: a Single Survey, an Energy Report and a Property Questionnaire.

  • Dig out the paperwork. Planning permission and building warrants for that extension, guarantees, factor details, anything about shared repairs, and your mortgage details. The buyer's solicitor will ask for all of it, so the attic is better searched now than in week five.

  • Agree your strategy: fixed price or offers over, and whether a closing date makes sense.

If you are buying

  • Get a mortgage agreement in principle, or otherwise know exactly what you can afford.

  • Read the Home Report properly. The valuation matters, but so do the condition ratings. That is where the expensive surprises hide.

  • Budget for more than the price. Think deposit, LBTT (Scotland's property tax), the Additional Dwelling Supplement if you will own more than one home, legal and registration fees, removals and insurance.

  • If the survey flags the roof, damp, electrics, drains or timber, get a specialist to look before you commit. Afterwards is too late to negotiate.

2. The offer: put it in writing

Found the one? Ask your solicitor to note interest with the selling agent. It costs nothing and means you should hear if a closing date is set. When you are ready, your solicitor submits a formal written offer. It covers more than the price:

  • your proposed date of entry (moving day);

  • what is included, from the white goods to the garden shed;

  • any conditions, such as your mortgage, a survey or the sale of your current home.

If you are the seller, you can accept, reject, or accept with changes. That last option is called a qualified acceptance, and it is the norm rather than a warning sign.

A word on closing dates. They are common when several buyers are interested, but they are market practice, not a legal requirement. Your solicitor and agent will advise whether setting one helps you.

3. Missives: the point of no return

"Missives" is simply the name for the formal letters the two solicitors exchange to pin down the contract. Offer, qualified acceptance, a reply to that, and so on until everything is agreed.

When the final letter lands, missives are concluded. From that moment the contract is binding on both sides. Walk away afterwards and you can expect a claim for damages.

So before your solicitor concludes, make sure that:

  • Buyers have a full mortgage offer (not just an agreement in principle), are satisfied on every survey concern, and have buildings insurance lined up for the date the contract says the risk becomes theirs.

  • Sellers have disclosed everything relevant, dealt with any gaps in the paperwork, and know the figure needed to pay off their mortgage.

If your solicitor seems unhurried at this stage, that is usually them doing their job. Binding you to a contract before your funding is certain is not a favour.

4. Behind the scenes: what your solicitor is actually doing

This is the quiet stretch, when clients sometimes wonder if anything is happening. Plenty is.

The buyer's solicitor is checking that you are getting what you think you are buying:

  • that the seller owns the property and is entitled to sell it;

  • where the boundaries are, and what is shared with the neighbours;

  • any rights of access, and any title conditions on what you can do with the place;

  • that alterations have the right planning and building warrant paperwork;

  • factor and common repair obligations;

  • property and insolvency searches.

They also prepare the disposition (the deed that transfers the property to you), set up your lender's security, and register an advance notice shortly before settlement. Think of that as a 35-day protective shield for your deed against certain competing deeds appearing on the register.

The seller's solicitor approves the disposition, arranges to pay off and discharge the existing mortgage, and gets the settlement paperwork ready.

5. Settlement: keys day

The date of entry is the day it all becomes real. The choreography is simple:

  1. The buyer's solicitor sends the purchase price to the seller's solicitor.

  2. The seller's solicitor hands over the signed disposition and other documents.

  3. The keys are released.

  4. The seller's mortgage is repaid and the balance goes to the seller.

Buyers: get your funds to your solicitor in good time. Bank transfers do not care that the removal van is booked for noon. Once you are in, take meter readings and sort utilities and council tax.

Sellers: be out when the missives say you will be, and leave what you agreed to leave. Yes, including the curtain poles.

6. After the keys: the bit nobody sees

You are unpacking boxes. Your solicitor still has two important jobs.

  • The LBTT return. This goes to Revenue Scotland, with any tax due, generally within 30 days of the transaction.

  • Registration. Your disposition is sent to Registers of Scotland. This matters more than it sounds: in law, you only become the owner once your title is registered.

When registration is complete, you and your lender receive the updated title.

Sellers: keep your completion statement and proof that your mortgage was discharged. If the property was not your main home, keep records for capital gains tax too.

Five things that catch people out

  1. Treating an accepted offer as the finish line. It is the starting gun. Missives are what count.

  2. Concluding missives before the money is certain. Finance, survey and title concerns come first. Signature comes second.

  3. Ignoring the factor. For flats and newer developments, check common repairs and factoring charges carefully. A shared roof is a shared bill.

  4. Leaving the tax sums late. Work out LBTT and the Additional Dwelling Supplement at the start, especially if you own another property or are replacing your main home.

  5. Forgetting registration. Keys in hand feels like ownership. Legally, registration is what makes it so.

How long does it all take?

A straightforward transaction commonly takes six to eight weeks. Chains, mortgage conditions, missing paperwork for alterations and title quirks can all stretch that. Most delays trace back to something that could have been spotted in step one.

The short version

Get organised early, do not celebrate too hard before missives are concluded, and ask questions whenever something is unclear. That is what we are here for.

If you are thinking about buying or selling, speak to the Simpson & Marwick team before you start. An early conversation costs far less than a late surprise.

This guide is general information about residential property transactions in Scotland. It is not legal advice on your own circumstances.