Making an offer (in England and Wales)
When you've found your ideal home, you'll need to make an offer. If you want to negotiate the price you can do so either with the seller or the estate agent. The price that you agree on is your offer. If you make the offer in writing you should head your letter 'subject to survey and contract', which means you are not obliged to proceed until you have had the property surveyed and the contracts for the sale are signed and exchanged. Ask your solicitor for more information about this. At this point, you should establish what is included in the sale, e.g. carpets, curtains, etc. You may have to pay a holding charge of anything from £100 to 1% of the purchase price, particularly if you are buying a brand new property.

Making an offer (in Scotland)
In Scotland, after loan approval and a survey of the property have been obtained, the next step is for an offer to be submitted for the purchase of the property by the Purchaser. This offer is prepared by the purchasers solicitor.

Surveys
It is essential that a survey is carried out in order to establish the condition and valuation of the property. All mortgage lenders will require a copy of the report as part of the underwriting process. As established professionals in the industry, we have negiotated special prices for our clients in most areas of the UK. If you require to have a property surveyed, please let us know to see if you can benefit from our reduced fees.

The legal process
The law in England and Wales differs greatly than that in Scotland. Our legal contacts around the UK would be delighted to act on your behalf. Please contact us for details.

Exchanging contracts (in England and Wales)
When the contract terms are agreed and your solicitor has received satisfactory replies to their questions, the contracts can be exchanged. Once each party has a contract signed by the other, the contracts are binding.The signed contract will include a completion date (the date the property will become yours). If you're selling as well as buying, your solicitor will usually co-ordinate things so that completion of your sale and purchase happen on the same day. Your deposit has to be paid to the seller through your solicitor at the point of exchange.

Concluding Missives (Scotland) If the offer is acceptable, then the Seller’s solicitor will issue a qualified acceptance letter. The contract is made binding once all of the contract terms are agreed in writing. The various formal letters making up the contract (the missives) are usually signed on behalf of the Seller and Purchaser by their respective solicitors. Once binding missives are entered into, neither party can withdraw from or vary the contract unless by mutual agreement.