You generally need a solicitor or appropriately qualified conveyancer to deal with the legal side of selling a property in Scotland. Your estate agent can market the property and find a buyer, while your solicitor handles the formal offer, missives, conveyancing and settlement required to complete the sale.
If you’re thinking about selling your home in Scotland, you may be wondering whether you need both an estate agent and a solicitor. While you can choose how your property is marketed, the legal side of a Scottish property sale requires specialist conveyancing work.
Your solicitor plays a central role once offers are received, handling everything from the legal contract and title checks to settlement, repayment of your mortgage and transfer of ownership.
Do You Need a Solicitor to Sell a House in Scotland?
Yes, you will normally need a solicitor or independent qualified conveyancer to deal with the legal work involved in selling your home in Scotland.
You don’t necessarily need a solicitor to advertise your property, arrange photographs, conduct viewings or find a buyer. Those elements can be handled by an estate agent, a solicitor estate agent or, in some circumstances, by the seller themselves.
However, once you receive an offer, the transaction involves formal legal work that requires specialist expertise.
This includes negotiating the contractual terms of the sale, concluding missives, checking your title, preparing the documents required to transfer ownership, dealing with the buyer’s solicitor and completing settlement.
What’s the Difference Between an Estate Agent and a Solicitor?
An estate agent and a solicitor perform different roles during a property sale.
Your Estate Agent
The estate agent’s main responsibility is selling and marketing your property.
This typically includes:
- Valuing your property
- Advising on asking price and marketing strategy
- Arranging the Home Report
- Organising photography and marketing materials
- Advertising the property
- Managing enquiries
- Arranging or conducting viewings
- Gathering buyer feedback
- Managing Notes of Interest
- Helping you assess buyer interest and offers
Your Solicitor
Your solicitor handles the legal side of the transaction.
This generally includes:
- Reviewing formal offers
- Advising you on the terms of an offer
- Negotiating with the buyer’s solicitor
- Dealing with the missives
- Checking your title deeds
- Carrying out required searches
- Preparing the legal documents
- Dealing with your mortgage lender
- Completing settlement
- Repaying any outstanding mortgage
- Transferring the remaining proceeds of the sale to you
In Scotland, some firms provide both estate agency and conveyancing services, meaning the marketing and legal sides of the transaction can be managed together.
When Should I Appoint a Solicitor?
It’s sensible to have your solicitor in place before you receive an offer.
Ideally, this should happen when you’re preparing to put your property on the market.
Doing so means your solicitor can begin gathering information and identify potential issues before a buyer is waiting for the transaction to progress.
They may need details relating to:
- Your title deeds
- Your mortgage
- Alterations or extensions
- Planning permissions
- Building warrants
- Guarantees or warranties
- Shared repairs
- Factoring arrangements
- Solar panels
- Access rights or shared areas
Finding missing documents early can help avoid unnecessary delays once an offer has been accepted.
Do I Need a Solicitor Before My Property Goes on the Market?
You don’t necessarily need your conveyancing solicitor to have completed legal work before your home is advertised.
However, having your solicitor appointed early can make the process smoother.
If you’re using a solicitor estate agent, your estate agency and conveyancing arrangements may form part of the same overall service.
If you’re using a separate estate agent, you can appoint your chosen solicitor independently to handle the legal side of the sale.
What Happens When I Receive an Offer?
Offers on properties in Scotland are normally submitted formally through the buyer’s solicitor.
An offer contains much more than the amount the buyer is willing to pay.
It can include terms relating to:
- The purchase price
- Proposed date of entry
- Items included in the sale
- Property alterations
- The Home Report
- Common repairs
- Title conditions
- Mortgage funding
- Other legal conditions
Your solicitor will review the offer and explain its implications before you decide how to proceed.
This is important because the highest price isn’t necessarily always the strongest offer.
For example, one buyer may offer slightly less but have no property to sell, while another offer could depend on the buyer completing their own sale.
Your estate agent and solicitor can help you assess the overall strength of each offer.
Does My Solicitor Accept the Offer?
Your solicitor will normally deal formally with the buyer’s solicitor once you decide which offer you want to proceed with.
This does not necessarily mean simply responding with “accepted”.
The seller’s solicitor will usually issue a formal response dealing with the various conditions contained within the buyer’s offer.
Further correspondence may then take place between the solicitors until all the terms of the transaction have been agreed.
These formal exchanges are known as missives.
What Are Missives?
Missives are the formal letters exchanged between the buyer’s and seller’s solicitors that together form the contract for the sale.
After an offer is submitted, there may be several exchanges between the solicitors while individual terms are agreed.
These could relate to matters such as:
- Date of entry
- Fixtures and fittings
- Property alterations
- Title conditions
- Documentation
- Repairs
- Other conditions within the offer
Once everything has been agreed, the solicitors can conclude missives.
At this point, the contract becomes legally binding.
What Legal Checks Does the Seller’s Solicitor Carry Out?
Your solicitor needs to make sure the legal side of the property is in order before ownership can be transferred.
This may involve reviewing your title and carrying out searches to confirm that you are entitled to sell the property.
They may also need to investigate issues such as:
- Extensions and alterations
- Planning permission
- Building warrants
- Rights of access
- Shared driveways
- Common areas
- Title conditions
- Factors
- Outstanding securities over the property
The exact work required will depend on the property.
A modern house on a straightforward registered title may require different work from an older property that has been extended several times.
What if I’ve Made Alterations to My Property?
Tell your solicitor about alterations as early as possible.
Examples might include:
- Extensions
- Loft conversions
- Garage conversions
- Removing internal walls
- New windows
- Patio or French doors
- Conservatories
- Structural alterations
Depending on the work, your solicitor may need documentation such as planning consent, building warrants or completion certificates.
If paperwork is missing, additional work may be required before the transaction can progress.
Identifying this before a buyer has been found can save valuable time later.
What Does My Solicitor Do With My Mortgage?
If you still have a mortgage on the property, it will normally need to be repaid when the sale completes.
Your solicitor will contact your lender and obtain a redemption figure showing how much is required to clear the outstanding mortgage.
On the date of entry, the buyer’s funds are transferred to your solicitor.
Your solicitor will then use part of those funds to repay the mortgage and deal with the legal process required to discharge the lender’s security over the property.
The remaining sale proceeds, after relevant fees and other agreed deductions, can then be transferred to you.
What Happens on the Date of Entry?
The date of entry is the agreed day on which the sale completes.
Your solicitor coordinates settlement with the buyer’s solicitor.
This involves completing the necessary legal documentation and receiving the agreed purchase funds.
Once settlement has taken place, the keys can be released to the buyer.
You should normally have moved out of the property by the agreed time and left it in the condition required by the sale contract.
For most sellers, this is the point at which the property is officially sold.
What Is a Disposition?
A disposition is the formal legal document used to transfer ownership of a property from the seller to the buyer.
Your solicitor prepares and deals with the necessary documentation as part of the conveyancing process.
After settlement, the buyer’s solicitor will deal with registering the new ownership with the Land Register of Scotland.
This is one of the reasons conveyancing isn’t simply an administrative part of selling a home. It involves the legal transfer of a significant asset from one person to another.
Can I Sell My House Without an Estate Agent?
Potentially, yes.
A homeowner can choose to find a buyer themselves rather than employing an estate agent.
You could, for example, already know someone who wants to buy your property.
However, most sellers use an estate agent because marketing a home involves much more than placing an advert online.
A selling agent can advise on:
- Pricing
- Presentation
- Home Report arrangements
- Photography
- Property portals
- Buyer enquiries
- Viewings
- Notes of Interest
- Closing dates
- Negotiating offers
Even if you find your own buyer, you will still need to deal with the legal conveyancing required to complete the sale.
Do I Need an Estate Agent and a Solicitor?
You need someone to manage the marketing of the property and someone appropriately qualified to deal with the legal transaction.
These services can be provided separately.
For example, you could use an estate agency to market the property and then appoint a separate solicitor for the conveyancing.
Alternatively, you can use a firm that offers both estate agency and legal services.
At MOV8, our estate agency and conveyancing teams work together, meaning the property marketing and legal sides of the transaction can be coordinated within the same business.
For sellers, this can make communication simpler because the teams handling the sale have visibility of the wider transaction.
Do I Need a Home Report as Well as a Solicitor?
In most circumstances, a property marketed for sale in Scotland also requires a Home Report.
The Home Report is separate from the conveyancing carried out by your solicitor.
It contains:
- A Single Survey
- An Energy Report
- A Property Questionnaire
The Single Survey includes an assessment of the property’s condition and a valuation carried out by a surveyor.
Your estate agent can normally help arrange the Home Report as part of preparing the property for market.
How Much Does a Solicitor Cost When Selling a House?
Solicitors’ fees vary depending on the firm, property and complexity of the transaction.
Your quote should explain what’s included in the fee and identify any additional costs or outlays that may apply.
When comparing quotes, don’t look at the headline figure alone.
Consider:
- What’s included
- Whether VAT is included
- Any additional administration charges
- Costs relating to searches or documentation
- Whether mortgage redemption work is included
- The level of service provided
- Whether the estate agency and conveyancing services are separate
A straightforward sale may involve less legal work than a property where there are title issues, missing alteration documents or other complications.
What Information Will My Solicitor Need From Me?
Your solicitor will let you know exactly what they require, but being organised can help speed things up.
You may be asked to provide:
- Proof of identity
- Details of your mortgage lender
- Information about the property
- Documentation relating to alterations
- Guarantees and warranties
- Information about any factor
- Details of shared repairs
- Your preferred date of entry
- Bank details for the sale proceeds
Solicitors are also required to carry out identity and anti-money laundering checks as part of the transaction.
Responding promptly to requests for information can help keep your sale moving.
Can the Same Solicitor Act for the Buyer and Seller?
Solicitors have professional rules governing conflicts of interest.
A solicitor cannot simply represent both parties where their interests conflict.
The buyer and seller are on opposite sides of a contractual property transaction, so each needs appropriate representation and advice.
Different solicitors within a firm may sometimes be able to act in particular circumstances, subject to professional rules and appropriate safeguards.
If you’re unsure who is acting for whom, ask your solicitor to explain the position.
Why Use a Solicitor Estate Agent?
One feature of the Scottish property market is the prevalence of solicitor estate agents.
These firms combine the marketing expertise required to sell your property with the legal expertise required to complete the transaction.
This can provide continuity from:
Valuation → Home Report → Marketing → Viewings → Offer → Missives → Conveyancing → Date of Entry
Rather than the legal side beginning only when an offer arrives, the conveyancing team can be involved earlier in the process.
That can be particularly useful if there are potential legal issues that need to be resolved before settlement.
Frequently asked questions
The legal side of selling a property in Scotland requires specialist conveyancing work. Sellers normally instruct a solicitor or independent qualified conveyancer to handle the legal transaction, including offers, missives, title work and settlement.
You can potentially market the property and find a buyer yourself. However, the legal side of transferring the property still needs to be dealt with through the conveyancing process.
Ideally, appoint your solicitor when you decide to put your property on the market rather than waiting until you receive an offer. This gives them time to gather the necessary information and identify potential legal issues early.
Your solicitor reviews and negotiates offers, deals with missives, checks the property’s title, carries out legal searches, prepares transfer documentation, liaises with the buyer’s solicitor, repays any existing mortgage and completes settlement.
The roles are different. An estate agent primarily deals with valuation, marketing, viewings and finding a buyer, while the solicitor manages the legal transaction. Some Scottish firms provide both services.
The Home Report will usually be organised as part of preparing your property for sale, often through your selling agent. The survey itself is carried out by an appropriately qualified surveyor rather than your conveyancing solicitor.
Yes. The buyer’s solicitor sends the purchase funds as part of settlement. Your solicitor will deal with any outstanding mortgage and other relevant deductions before transferring the remaining proceeds to you.
Your solicitor normally obtains a redemption statement from your lender and repays the outstanding mortgage from the sale proceeds when the transaction completes.
The sale completes on the agreed date of entry. The legal transfer of ownership involves the disposition and subsequent registration of the buyer’s title in the Land Register of Scotland.
Conclusion
So, do you need a solicitor to sell your house in Scotland?
While you have choices about how your property is marketed and who finds your buyer, the legal side of selling your home requires specialist conveyancing work. Your solicitor plays a crucial role, from dealing with the formal offer and concluding missives through to settlement, mortgage repayment and transfer of ownership.
Getting your solicitor involved early can also help identify potential legal issues before they have a chance to delay your sale.
At MOV8, our estate agency and conveyancing teams work together throughout the selling process, giving you one team to help take your property from initial valuation through to your date of entry.
If you’re considering selling, arranging a free property valuation is a good place to start. Our team can explain the likely value of your property, how we would market it and what happens during the legal process once a buyer is found.
Useful Links
Free Property Valuation
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Learn more about selling your property with MOV8 and the support available throughout the process.
Conveyancing Services
Find out how our solicitors can manage the legal side of your property sale.
Home Reports
Learn more about what’s included in a Scottish Home Report and when you’ll need one.
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