By Gilson Gray
February 17, 2026
What are missives and when do they become legally binding?
In Scottish conveyancing, missives are the formal letters exchanged between the buyer’s solicitor and the seller’s solicitor. They form the contract for your sale and/or purchase. The contract is not binding until missives have concluded which I will explain in greater detail below.
The First Missive – Offer
If you are purchasing a property, the first missive is the Offer. The offer is written by Gilson Gray, on your behalf, and issued to the seller’s solicitor. The offer will note important points such as the price you have offered and any fixtures or fittings you would like to be included in the purchase price.
The Second Missive – Qualified Acceptance
The second missive is the formal acceptance, known as the Qualified Acceptance. This missive is issued to us from the seller’s solicitor and will accept the terms of your offer subject to any adjustments or qualifications the seller would like to make.
The Concluding Missive
If you are happy with the terms of the Qualified Acceptance, your solicitor will issue a missive concluding the contract. If you would like to make any changes to the Qualified Acceptance, then your solicitor will issue a further missive incorporating these changes. If the seller accepts the changes made, their solicitor will then issue the missive concluding the contract. When the concluding missive is issued you are in a binding contract with the seller to purchase their property.
When you are selling a property, the same applies except it is up to you to accept the terms of your buyers offer. Your solicitor will discuss the Scottish Standard Clauses with you as these are standard conditions that are automatically incorporated into the missives, unless specifically deleted out or changed.
What happens when buying a New Build property?
If you are purchasing a new build property from a volume builder, the same principle applies, however, it is not you that offers to purchase from the builder. The builder will offer to sell the property to you. Their offer to sell is the first missive. We then accept the terms of their offer and issue a formal acceptance. The builder’s solicitor will then conclude the contract if they are happy with the terms of our acceptance.
Before missives are concluded, either party can withdraw from the transaction without penalty. When the concluding missive has been issued and the contract becomes binding then you are not able to withdraw from the transaction without penalty as you will be in breach of contract. The same applies to the other party.
For more information on how we can help you buy or sell a property, please contact us today.
