How to Sell a House Fast - Scotland

5. Once the listing is complete and “live”, buyers should begin to express interest. The likelihood of this will be improved via promotional activity on the part of the solicitor estate agent
6. The seller must host viewings of the property whenever possible to enable buyers to carefully examine the home both inside and out
7. Hopefully, the seller’s agent will begin to receive formal written offers from the solicitors of potential buyers. Ideally, these will exceed the displayed price, but offers below this amount are also possible
8. The abovementioned offer will usually include the following: the offered price, the date of entry, requests for any extra items to be included in the sale and any other inclusions that will enable to buyer to take over the title of the property and complete the process
9. The offer may be made on a “conditional” basis, with the seller required to fulfil certain actions in order to move forward - often within a certain timeframe
10. All communications between the seller’s and buyer’s solicitors regarding the making and “firming up” of the offer are known as “missives”
11. Once the seller is happy to accept a particular offer, their solicitor estate agent will communicate this to the buyer and their own conveyancing specialists. This will render the “missives” concluded and the sale will be legally binding
12. There are two steps to accepting an offer in Scotland - the “qualified” acceptance and the “final” acceptance. The former includes the seller’s response to any conditions communicated by the buyer, while the latter constitutes a legally binding contract
13. The buyer may then be required to pay a deposit of 10%, depending on the value of the property and the arrangement the seller has made with their solicitor
14. The seller will then discuss with the agent their preferred method for releasing the keys to their property
15. Both parties’ solicitors will then begin the settlement process. This should be finalised on the date of entry stipulated in the contract of sale. The sale amount is paid to the seller’s solicitor, who will have prepared a State for Settlement
16. The seller will then vacate the property, having removed all of their belongings from within, and will provide their solicitor estate agent with the keys
17. The buyer will “take entry” of the property

If your home has particularly notable features, they may even make contact with journalists and print-based or online newspapers to try and get it featured.

While there are a range of ways in which an estate agent can “drum up” interest in your property, many fail to put in sufficient effort, which means that your home may end up less visible to potential buyers than you would prefer.

Estate agents often handle the sales of a great many properties, as well as the management of a range of different processes such as rentals and buy to let, which means that their attention may be spread fairly thin.

The resulting lack of interest in your property may lead to it sitting on the market for many months, without receiving any offers.

What’s more, many express estate agencies have access to a panel of specialist solicitors and surveyors who are accustomed to quick turnovers - something that will also help to speed up your sale.

An alternative that is even swifter - and potentially more secure - is the auction approach.

The homeowner must then instruct their solicitor to put together an information pack for their property, which must include all relevant information relating to the sale.

Auction sellers are commonly required to host viewings of their property, but it is possible to do this in “blocks”, with multiple visitors at once, to make it more manageable from the homeowner’s perspective.

The property, or “lot”, is brought to auction at a set date and time. The highest bid above the reserve price at the time the gavel falls is officially accepted, and the individual who placed that bid immediately enters a legally binding contract.

They are required to pay a 10% deposit straight away, and are then given a further period - usually of 28 days - to pay the remainder of the promised amount.

This makes selling at auction a fairly speedy process, and offers the security of a firm sale agreement.

However, a large number of fast home buying companies waive their agency fees and cover the legal expenses of their clients. In most cases where this occurs, it is stipulated that the seller must use a legal specialist chosen by the organisation rather than finding their own.

Property sellers who require 100% of their home’s market value may prefer to select an express estate agency service or the traditional or modern method of auction rather than a “we buy any house” company.

However, those who need to prioritise ease, security and speed will likely find a cash home buyer to be far better suited to their requirements.

This may be because:

…Or, indeed, any other reason besides

The process can be completed very quickly - sometimes in as few as 7 - 21 days - as there is no chain, no need to wait for a buyer to express interest and a significantly reduced chance of any party dropping out.

The seller will be selling directly to the company, with no viewings and no need for “middleman”.

There are a range of other benefits to using a “we buy any house” company besides the above. For example, this approach enables the home owner to:

1. Easily Sell a House with Tenants in Situ

   At the time of writing, there is an eviction ban in place across Scotland. In some cases, this ban will extend to at least 31st March 2023. This suggests to many owners of properties with tenants in situ that they will not be ble to easily sell until that ban has been lifted.

   However, a large number of “we buy any house” companies are able to buy property with tenants in situ, avoiding the need for any eviction and enabling landlords to sell more quickly and easily.

2. Sell Property in “Less Than Ideal” Condition

   Many home buying organisations purchase property with the aim of renovating it to increase its value before they sell it on. This means that it tends to be much easier to use this method to sell property that is in a state of disrepair.

3. Sell Mixed Use or Unusual Property

   “We buy any house” companies will often buy buildings of all kinds and uses, as they often have networks of investors and developers who are keen to take property off their hands - whatever its purpose.

   In many cases, cash home buyers will even purchase property that is the subject of a restrictive covenant or an ongoing legal dispute, which means that the owner can free themselves of any responsibility towards that property quickly.

4. Buy and Sell Property Across Borders

   Because the English and Scottish property sale systems differ somewhat, individuals who plan to buy a property in Scotland after selling one in England may find matters a little complex.

   Usually, the process of selling the English property will need to be complete before the purchase process can begin.

   The reason for this is that in England, the exchange of contracts occurs much closer to the completion of the entire transaction, whereas Scottish sales become legally binding as soon as all missives are completed.

   However, selling a Scottish property and buying an English one can be undertaken as one process - as the systems combine much more smoothly the other way around.

   Naturally, having to tackle two separate transactions back to back can feel overwhelming - which means that homeowners selling in England and buying in Scotland may find the use of a fast home buying company extremely helpful in streamlining matters and speeding things up.

   Of course, cash home buyers can also make selling in Scotland and buying in England - or any other part of the UK - swifter, easier and less stressful, too. For this reason, if you need to sell a house fast in Scotland, a fast home buying company may be your best option.

Be sure to carefully compare companies before you make your decision. As well as their regulatory approaches and their reviews, you should also check whether or not they: