Conveyancing Solicitors in Scotland

The typical conveyancing timeline ranges from 6 to 12 weeks, but factors such as the length of the property chain, the turnaround time for local authority searches and property reports, and any required investigations of unique restrictions or boundary requirements within the title deeds can influence the overall duration of the process.

At Austin Lafferty, we endeavour to move as fast as the legal process allows. You can help the conveyancing process run smoothly by contacting us during your property search stage to get the ball rolling early. It also helps to have your Mortgage in Principle ready and be responsive with providing information and returning signed documents throughout the process.

Rather than a flat rate, the cost of conveyancing is calculated based on the property’s value and the complexity of the transaction. Fees will differ depending on whether you’re buying, selling, or doing both simultaneously - buying usually involves more legal work due to title investigations and mortgage requirements.

Legal fees can be influenced by factors like Help to Buy schemes, gifted deposits, or unusual title deeds, which can require additional legal work and oversight. Various fees and taxes may be applicable, and other third-party costs, such as Land Register dues, search reports, and bank transfer fees, are usually managed by your solicitor and are included in the total conveyancing cost.

Generally, no. Legal fees and outlays (such as taxes and registration dues) are the costs for the legal work and mandatory taxes/dues, paid to the Scottish Government and the Land Register of Scotland. These are external to the mortgage lender, so they must be settled as part of the closing funds you provided to your solicitor. We recommend budgeting for legal fees and outlays as part of your ‘upfront’ costs alongside your deposit. This ensures a smooth settlement without a last-minute scramble for funding.

In Scottish property law, ‘missives’ refers to the formal exchange of sequential letters between the buyer’s and seller’s solicitors. The first is the formal offer from the buyer, followed by a qualified acceptance from the seller’s solicitor, which not only accepts the offer but can also add or amend certain legal conditions, known as qualifications. Both solicitors will go back and forth until these terms are agreed upon by both parties and no further qualifications remain.

Once the final letter has been issued, the missives are said to be concluded and both parties are legally bound to the sale.

The stage at which missives are concluded is when the deal becomes legally binding, so the period leading up to concluding missives can be a significant point of anxiety for both buyers and sellers. While we aim to have missives concluded as early as possible, it’s common for the process to have some delays that are out of our solicitors’ control, such as waiting for the mortgage offer to be fully processed and all information and instructions to be received from the lender.

Missives can be concluded several weeks before the moving date, but it’s not too uncommon for this to happen a mere few days before the date of entry.

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) replaced Stamp Duty in Scotland, payable to Revenue Scotland when purchasing a property or land above specified thresholds. The amount payable depends on the purchase price of the property or land. Our conveyancing solicitors can calculate your exact LBTT liability as part of your initial quote.