Page 3 - A Guide to Selling Houses

GUIDETOADVANCESTATEMENTS

GUIDE TO SELLING HOUSES

3. Potential Buyers

Where someone is interested in buying a property they normally go to their Solicitor or other Agent and "note
interest" with us. This simply means that their Solicitor or Agent makes contact with us and indicates that their
client is reasonably seriously interested in proceeding with a purchase.

Someone who has been to their Solicitor and had their "interest noted" in a property sometimes proceed to have
it surveyed before deciding whether or not to proceed with an offer, or more likely they will rely on the Home
Report. On occasion however, people go as far as "noting interest" but then simply take no further steps and for
whatever reason go no further with the transaction. Sometimes when buyers act quickly an offer can arrive
before any other party has shown interest in the property, and that offer can of course be accepted.

When two or more people have "noted interest" our Sales Controller will normally fix a "Closing Date" – allowing
enough time for all the interested parties to offer. The Closing Date is simply a time by which offers should be
received for the property. This deadline is communicated to the Solicitors of the people who have "noted
interest".

It is important to note however that many properties sell to individual buyers without a closing date ever having
been fixed.

Once the Closing Date deadline is reached, our Sales Controller will telephone you advising you of the details of
any offers received and a decision in principle will normally be taken by you then as to which offer is to be
accepted.

It should be noted that on occasion even after a Closing Date is fixed, either no offer is received or no acceptable
offer is received and the property has to be re-advertised. This is a slightly unusual situation but it does happen
from time to time.

4. The Offer

Offers in Scotland take the form of letters from the buyers Solicitors offering to buy the property at a certain price
with a certain date of entry and on certain legal conditions. Our sales staff will contact you when any offer is
received and advise you of the principal clauses in it, e.g., price, date of entry and what extras such as carpets
and curtains are to be included in the price. Sometimes these clauses are a matter for negotiation between the
buyer and seller and if so our Sales Controller will handle this negotiation on your behalf. At a Closing Date

however, where a number of offers have been received it is accepted practice that the price is no longer subject
to negotiation although some of the ancillary clauses in the offer can be adjusted.

Page 3