Property Buying Guide
Whether you’re a first time buyer, someone who has never bought a property in Scotland before or an experienced buyer who wants a refresher on the buying process, have a read through our Buying Guide – it could save you a small fortune!
Property Buying Guide
What is a Note of Interest?
A Note of Interest is a way of your solicitor letting the seller’s solicitor/estate agent know that you might be interested in purchasing their client’s property. The intention is that the property won’t be sold in the meantime to someone else before you have had a chance to make an offer on the property.
The Law Society of Scotland has rules about how Notes of Interest should be treated by solicitors at a Closing Date. These only apply to solicitors, however, so if the seller’s agent is a non-solicitor estate agent they are not bound by the same rules.
There is no guarantee that the property won’t be sold, though, even if you have ‘Noted Interest’. The selling agent has to take their client’s instructions as to whether the seller wants to go back to the party who has ‘Noted Interest’ to give them an opportunity to offer.
Do I need to submit a Note of Interest?
We would recommend that, if you are interested in any property, you submit a Note of Interest through a solicitor to give yourself the highest chance of getting an opportunity to make an Offer on the property. You do not need to submit a Note of Interest to submit an Offer.
What is a Closing Date?
A Closing Date is a time and date by which Offers on a property should be submitted, in writing, by any interested party’s solicitor. The potential buyers submit their Offers prior to that time and without knowing what the other parties are offering.
The more Notes of Interest that there are on a property, the more competition there is likely to be amongst the potential buyers. This can push some buyers to pay more to secure the property than they would if they knew that they were the only person bidding on the property.
