Simplifying legal jargon for a smooth Summer transaction

Following on from her insightful Spring blog, we caught up with Jennifer Leslie, Associate and Conveyancer within our Aberdeen office, to break down some of the keywords and phrases that you’ll come across in your buying and selling journey with us.

With Summer just around the corner, the property market enters its busiest season with buyers and sellers both benefitting from activity levels. At Gilson Gray, we aim to make your property transaction as straightforward as possible – that often means simplifying the legal jargon so that you can be confident every step of the way.

Noting Interest

A note of interest is a formal indication from a potential buyer’s solicitor to the seller’s agent that the potential buyer is interested in buying the property. The intention would be that the property won’t be sold in the meantime to someone else before you have had a chance to make a formal offer on the property. The seller however can still accept an offer for the property without informing parties who have noted interest although in most cases they will give the noted interest a chance to offer possibly at a closing date.

Closing Date

The closing date is typically set by the seller generally when they have had an influx of interest in their property for sale and there are a number of registered notes of interest or offers. At the closing date, all offers for the property must be submitted before a specific deadline to be considered. The seller will in most cases accept the highest offer although they may also consider a purchaser’s position and proposed date of entry. An offer at a closing date is the only chance that you will get to offer therefore you need to submit the best and highest offer that you wish to make for the property as you will not get a chance to increase it if you are unsuccessful. Your solicitor will be required to submit the offer on your behalf so be sure to give them plenty of notice to ensure you don’t miss out on your dream home!

Missive Letter

A missive letter would next be issued to either make any amendments to the Qualified Acceptance or it may simply conclude the missives. This is the point at which the contract becomes legally binding! The missives will be negotiated back and forth until both the seller and purchaser are happy with the terms of the missives and are happy to conclude. We will only ever progress the missives once you confirm that you are happy for us to do so. Normally for a purchase, we will only progress the missives once we have received your mortgage offer.

Title Deeds

Title deeds are formal documents that state of ownership of the property and are held with Registers of Scotland. These require to be updated for each purchase throughout its history and whenever the owner of the property changes. The title deeds contain the burdens or the conditions that are registered against the property and lay out what can and cannot be done with the property. When we are acting for purchasers we examine the title deeds for you and provide a detailed report on the title deed explaining it in detail.

Fees

When purchasing a property, clients should be aware that all fees require to be paid prior to the date of entry, to ensure a smooth and legally compliant transfer of ownership. These fees cover essentials such as legal work, deposits, and administrative costs with several necessary documents and processes requiring to be completed in a specific order before settlement can occur.

Settlement

Settlement is the formal completion of the transaction at which time, the full property purchase price is paid to the seller’s solicitors in return for the title deeds and the keys.

Date of Entry

The date of entry is the date specified in the contract for completion of the transaction, AKA the day you get your keys! You’ll receive updates from your solicitor throughout the day to keep you updated on progress before we let you know when the keys are ready to be collected.

The Summer market is a fantastic time to move if you are thinking of doing so and Gilson Gray is here to support you on your journey. Feel free to stop by your local office for a chat or get in touch!

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