Complete Clarity Solicitors

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Conveyancing Solicitors Glasgow, Shawlands & Edinburgh, Scotland

With the right advice, buying and selling your home needn’t be stressful. Our conveyancing solicitors can guide you through the process of selling your old home and buying your new one.

Contact us for a Free* conveyancing or estate agency consultation

For a Free* consultation with our conveyancing lawyers and estate agents based in GlasgowEast Kilbride & Edinburgh, Scotland, call us today on 0808 178 7292 or complete our online enquiry form and let us help you. We can also provide our legal services throughout Scotland.

Buying and selling property in Scotland

We’ll listen to your instructions on selling your home and advise you through every step of the process. From marketing your property to completion, we’ll help you through every step to get you into your new home as quickly as possible.

We’ll advise on how best to market your property, how to maximise its value and answer any questions you may have including how much your property might be worth, when its best to sell and how to find your ideal property.

See the links below for more information:

Purchasing property in Scotland

Our conveyancing solicitors help our clients buy and sell property in GlasgowEdinburghAyrshirePaisley, Lanarkshire and throughout central Scotland. Find out what one of our happy clients had to say:

“We instructed Complete Clarity to aid us in the purchase of our house. It was fantastic being able to come and meet the team, have a chat through; and they certainly helped us map out the whole process of buying our property. It was great having the team at Clarity to help us ultimately and successfully purchase our house, and we’re absolutely delighted with all their efforts.

“I would have no hesitation in recommending Complete Clarity for any legal matter; whether that be the purchasing of a property, or any other situation that requires a solicitor. All the staff are highly trained, friendly, and, more importantly, brilliant at what they do. They certainly do add an aura of calm to a situation, especially in my situation of buying a property. I think they’re a fantastic company.”

Our conveyancing solicitors, based in Glasgow and Edinburgh, know the local property market inside and out. We’ll make sure you get the best possible deal on your new property, and that every aspect of the transaction is taken care of. Our conveyancing fees are competitive and represent fantastic value for money.

We pride ourselves on listening to our clients, to advising them in their own best interests and on caring about the outcome of each and every legal action and transaction we enter into on behalf of our clients. However, as our name suggests, we also pride ourselves on the quality of our communication and the clarity of our advice. Despite conveyancing being a relatively routine and commonplace transaction, many people are mystified about what the process actually involves. In this step-by-step guide, our conveyancing solicitors bring a little clarity to the typical conveyancing transaction:

Conveyancing - Buying your home

Step 1. Get in touch.

When you’ve identified your dream home, give us a call and we’ll get in touch with the estate agent marketing the property. We’ll let them know you’re interested and find out if there is a closing date. Then we’ll discuss with you how you’re financing the purchase (normally a this will be with a mortgage).

At this point, we’ll be in touch with you regarding our fees and to get some ID for you (this is necessary under money laundering regulations).

Step 2. We send the offer.

Once all of the above is in place, we’ll send the seller’s estate agents the offer. Normally, they’ll send what is known as a ‘qualified’ acceptance. This is basically an acceptance of your offer but with conditions attached. What then happens is that we negotiate these conditions with the seller’s estate agent or solicitor. The process is known as the ‘Missives’.

The ‘Missives’

The missives are not one document, rather they are a series of letters exchanged between the buyer’s and the seller’s solicitors negotiating the deal. Contrary to popular belief, these do not need to be signed by the buyer or the seller.

Step 3. Title Deeds & Reports

At this point, we receive certain documents from the seller’s solicitors. These will contain reports relating to the property and also the title deeds. ‘Title to the property’ is the legal way of saying that the seller owns it and thus has a right to sell it. If they don’t have the right because their title is defective in some way, then they cannot pass title to you.

We’ll also enquire as to whether the property has had any alterations or building work carried out and to see if the property has been, or could be, affected by coalmining. (This is common in some parts of Glasgow and Strathclyde)

We’ll also receive property enquiry reports which detail various matters relating to the property and its immediate surroundings. This is prepared by the local authority and details things like drainage, roads, building warrants etc)

Step 4. We exchange documents with the seller’s solicitor.

We’ll work with the seller’s solicitor in your best interests to make sure everything is as settled as possible. If there are any doubts about the title to the property then we’ll raise these at with them at this time.

We also draft the ‘disposition’. This is the document that formally transfers title to the property.

Step 5. The Mortgage (known as a Standard Security in Scotland).

We’ll take your instructions regarding the mortgage (who the lender is etc) and explain, in clear and simple terms, just what you are getting into. The mortgage is secured against your home so it’s important you understand what you are entering into. We’ll get the relevant forms signed and finalise everything with the lender (the bank or building society giving you the mortgage).

Land and Buildings Transaction Tax  (formerly known as Stamp Duty Land Tax – SDLT)

If the value of the property exceeds £145,000 then we’ll deal with SDLT for you.

Step 6. The Missives are concluded.

When we have reached agreement with the sellers solicitor and everything is finalised, the missives are said to be concluded. At this point, the contract for sale of the property is concluded. Your new home is (legally) yours!

Step 7. The house is paid for.

At this point, the financial aspects of the transaction are settled. The price of the house is paid, the fees for registering the property with the Registers of Scotland are paid and SDLT (if due) is paid.

Step 8. The transaction is settled.

Once the funds are transferred, the transaction settles and you are given the keys to your new home.

Step 9. Moving day.

Now you’re on your own! Good luck and enjoy your new home!

Conveyancing - Selling your home.

Selling a property largely mirrors the steps to buying a home above.

Step 1. We receive the offer.

The estate agent marketing the property will notify us of the offer sent by the buyer’s solicitor. We’ll send you a copy of this and take your instructions regarding it. If we haven’t dealt with you before, we’ll require to send you a note of our fees etc, and to see your ID to comply with money laundering regulations.

Step 2. (Qualified) Acceptance

In the vast majority of cases, this offer won’t be acceptable right away. If it isn’t acceptable, we’ll send the buyer’s solicitors a qualified acceptance. Effectively this is a negotiation of the terms of the agreement. This is known as the missives. At this point, we send the title deeds and other relevant documents to the buyer’s solicitor.

Step 3. Reply to the qualified acceptance.

The buyer’s solicitors will let us know if they accept the conditions of our qualified acceptance or if further negotiation is necessary. This process of back-and-forth exchange and negotiation is known as the missives.

We’ll also send the buyer’s solicitor the Coal Report and the Property Enquiry Certificate when they arrive.

Step 4. Sold ‘Subject to Concluded Missives’

Once the process of negotiation is finished, we conclude the missives. Once both parties are happy, the transaction is settled and the contract for sale of the property is now binding. You, as the seller, will sign the disposition (the document transferring ownership of the property) to the buyers.

Step 5 Settling the transaction

At this stage, we receive the purchase price from the buyer’s solicitor. Once this is cleared, we release they keys to them. We’ll take our fees and the estate agents theirs, and you receive the balance of the sale.

Our other property services

We can also help you with the following:

Complete Clarity Solicitors are based in GlasgowEast Kilbride & Edinburgh, however, we provide legal advice throughout Scotland. Call us today on 0808 178 7292 or complete our online enquiry form and let us help you.

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Please note: We do not offer legal aid

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