Page 3 - Guide to the house buying process

THE HOUSE BUYING PROCESS

the morning of the date of entry. In the vast majority of transactions the date of entry is adhered to by both parties
but on occasion there can be delays. On the few occasions when this arises, the solicitor or legal executive
handling your case would normally be able to give you prior notice of potential delays. If both the buyer and seller
agree the date of entry in the offer it can be changed either before or after the ‘concluded missives’ stage.
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4. Checking the Seller's Title

Once the ‘concluded missives’ stage is reached, the seller’s solicitor will send all the documents relating to the
ownership of the property to us. These are called ‘documents of title’. Caesar & Howie staff will then check these
documents to ensure that the seller does indeed own the property and that there is nothing to prevent the
contract proceeding to the ‘settlement’. In Scotland, most land is held under a system which results in the titles to
property containing ‘conditions of title’ affecting the property. The vast majority of these conditions are quite
acceptable to purchasers of residential property and Caesar & Howie will advise you of the conditions which
affect your particular property. Very often there is a prohibition against using a residential property for commercial
purposes or altering buildings without certain consents.. You will be shown these title conditions and if you have
any questions about them, you can direct them to the solicitor or legal executive responsible for your transaction.
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5. The Conveyancing

"Conveyancing" is the general word used to describe the procedures gone through to prepare the written
document transferring ownership to the buyer. This document is called the ‘Disposition’ and Caesar & Howie will
ensure that this document accurately transfers the property to the buyer. That Disposition is signed by the seller
but the seller’s solicitor keeps it, only delivering it to Caesar & Howie in return for the purchase price at the date
of entry or settlement. That Disposition, when it is received by us must be recorded in the ‘Land Register’ which is

the public register into which all Scottish land transfers must be entered. This means that after the date of entry
you will not as a buyer actually receive the document of title in your favour but you become the true owner of the
property when that document is recorded by us in the Land Register. When you are buying property with a loan,
once the Disposition is returned to us after having been recorded in the Register then it is often held by the
lender until the loan is repaid. If you wish, however, we can easily provide you with a copy of the document in
your favour.
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6. The Loan Offer

At some stage between conclusion of missives and the date of entry your lender (if you have a loan) will send
you a formal offer to lend you the money agreed as a loan to help you to buy the property. Normally, the loan
offer will contain in it the various conditions on which the loan has been granted, including the amount of the
monthly payments. Not all lenders’ procedures are the same, but usually you will have to sign an acceptance of
this loan offer and return it to the lender. At that stage we will prepare various other documents for your signature,
the main one being the ‘Standard Security’. In simple terms, this is a document signed by all buyers who are

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