hand holding keys with home keychain

How a Property Solicitors in Glasgow Benefit You When Buying a Home

The process of buying a new home in Scotland can be complex, but with property solicitors in Glasgow on your side, the property purchase can be less stressful. They will also take care of all the legal paperwork and tie loose ends.

property solicitor benefits

They will conduct several checks to protect you from potential problems, such as flood risk or contaminated land. These checks may give you a better negotiating position or force you to rethink your purchase entirely.

Due Diligence

Due diligence is the term used to describe a comprehensive review of documentation and facts by a buyer or their agents before engaging in business with or buying an asset.

In real estate, this process often involves investigating issues like flood zones, building inspections and zoning studies. These searches can be a vital part of a property purchase and have significant legal implications for the buyer.

Having a competent solicitor conduct the due diligence process can benefit both parties. It can help save time and money and give the client peace of mind.

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is a legal process that transfers the property title from one person to another. The process can be pretty complicated and requires a lot of work.

A conveyancer is an expert in this field and can ensure that your purchase goes smoothly from start to finish.

They can also help you avoid costly mistakes that could affect your home and finances in the long run. For example, they can do searches to check whether a property has any issues you should be aware of, such as planning permission and illegal building work.

Property Searches

Before you exchange contracts for a property, your conveyancer will conduct a series of searches. This is to find out anything that may affect your purchase.

Environmental searches will reveal if there are any problems with contamination or flooding around the property, for example. This is to help prevent any unpleasant surprises when you move in.

Planning searches are also helpful; they look at any planning applications in the area and their outcome. This could be anything from kids playing on the street to pubs kicking out time or even constructing a new road.

Your mortgage lender will be looking to see if any of these issues have been reported to them, so it is essential that you know what is going on in your local area and whether you need to take any action before committing to buying the property.

Home Reports

Since 1st December 2008, all houses sold in Scotland (subject to certain limited exceptions) must be provided with a Home Report. This consists of three mandatory documents:

A Single Survey, Energy Performance Certificate and Property Questionnaire.

The Home Report helps reduce the cost and time it takes to sell a property in Scotland. It also helps promote a greener lifestyle and lowers a property’s carbon footprint.

Mortgages

If you’re a solicitor, lawyer, or barrister looking to buy property in Glasgow, there are mortgage deals available that aren’t always available to the general public. You’ll need the support of a specialist mortgage broker to ensure you find the correct buy.

The cost of conveyancing will depend on the nature of the property and where it is located. Some firms will charge a flat fee, while others will charge a percentage of the property’s value.

Completion

Property solicitors in Glasgow have a role to ensure a home’s sale is completed. This is done by checking that all of the necessary documents have been completed and signed by both parties.

Once everything has been agreed upon, the property can be handed over and the keys will be released to the buyer. This is a time-consuming process that can take several weeks.

As a result, it’s important to be prepared and avoid delays to the property purchase. For example, a hold-up on the exchange of contracts could have serious consequences.