First-Time Buyer Guide
What to sort before you look, and the tax reliefs that differ across the UK.
Conveyancing Services
Buying a Home: How Conveyancing Works
Buying a property is one of the largest financial decisions most people make, and the legal process differs substantially depending on whether you are buying in Scotland or in England and Wales. Here is how each works.
England & Wales
The Process Under the Law of England & Wales
Once your offer is accepted, you instruct a solicitor or licensed conveyancer. They review the draft contract prepared by the seller's side, raise pre-contract enquiries, carry out searches (local authority, drainage and water, environmental, plus any mining or flood searches the location requires), and check your mortgage offer.
The binding moment is exchange of contracts. Until then, either party can walk away without legal penalty, which is why gazumping remains possible in England. At exchange you pay your deposit (typically 10%), a completion date is fixed, and risk in the property passes to you, so buildings insurance must be in place from that point.
On completion, the balance is transferred, keys are released, and you become the owner. Your solicitor then files the Stamp Duty Land Tax return within 14 days and registers your title with HM Land Registry.
What to look for in a firm
Check for CQS accreditation (the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme, required by most lenders), a clear fixed-fee quote with every disbursement itemised, a named case handler, and confirmation the firm is on your lender's panel.
Key Steps in England & Wales
- Offer accepted, solicitor instructed
- ID and source-of-funds checks completed
- Searches submitted, draft contract reviewed
- Enquiries raised and answered
- Mortgage offer received
- Exchange of contracts: deposit paid, both parties bound
- Completion: funds transfer, keys, SDLT filed, title registered
Scotland
How It Works Under Scots Law
In Scotland you instruct a solicitor before you offer, because the offer itself is a formal legal document. Your solicitor submits it, the seller's solicitor replies with a qualified acceptance, and the two sides negotiate through missives until agreement is reached.
When the missives conclude, both parties are legally bound: this typically happens earlier than exchange does in England, which is the main reason gazumping is less common north of the border. Because you commit sooner, your mortgage should be well advanced first. The seller's Home Report gives you condition and valuation information before you offer, at their expense.
At settlement (the date of entry agreed in the missives) funds transfer and you take possession. Your solicitor submits the LBTT return to Revenue Scotland within 30 days and registers the title with Registers of Scotland.
What to look for in a firm
Look for membership of the Law Society of Scotland, membership of the local solicitors' property centre (ESPC, ASPC, GSPC and so on), a clear fixed fee, and experience of the specific local market, particularly for tenement flats, where common repairs and factoring matter.
Why Scotland Is Different
Scotland has its own legal system. The binding contract is formed by concluded missives, not exchange of contracts; property tax is LBTT (with the Additional Dwelling Supplement on second homes), collected by Revenue Scotland; title is registered with Registers of Scotland; and sellers must provide a Home Report before marketing. There is no CQS scheme in Scotland: firms are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland.
Buying or Selling Across the Border?
If you live in one jurisdiction and are buying in the other, common for people relocating between England and Scotland, make sure your solicitor is qualified in the jurisdiction where the property sits. A solicitor qualified only in England and Wales cannot act on a Scottish purchase, and vice versa. Some larger firms have offices and qualifications on both sides of the border.
Common Questions
Buying a Home: FAQs
Do I need a solicitor before making an offer?
In Scotland, yes: the offer is a formal legal document your solicitor submits on your behalf, so you must be instructed first. In England and Wales you can make an offer through the estate agent informally and instruct a solicitor once it is accepted, although getting a solicitor lined up early still speeds things up.
When am I legally committed to the purchase?
In England and Wales, at exchange of contracts, when you pay your deposit and a completion date is set. Before exchange either side can withdraw. In Scotland, when missives are concluded, which usually happens earlier in the transaction. After that point, withdrawing exposes you to a claim for damages.
How much should I budget beyond the deposit?
As a working figure, allow two to three per cent of the purchase price on top of your deposit for legal fees, disbursements, searches and moving costs, plus property tax where it applies. Leasehold purchases in England and Wales carry additional freeholder and managing-agent charges.
What is CQS, and does it apply in Scotland?
The Conveyancing Quality Scheme is an accreditation run by the Law Society of England and Wales and required by most mainstream lenders there. It does not exist in Scotland, where firms are regulated by the Law Society of Scotland. A Scottish firm advertising CQS is referring to a cross-border or English arm of its practice.
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