Moving to Scotland
Discussion
gotoPzero said:
Thanks for the last few posters this is exactly what info I was after I knew the process was different but didnt know a few things.
So, if we want to make an offer on somewhere does ours need to be SSTC first to have any hope of being taken seriously?
Also, do all offers have to go through solicitors? (I have read it does)
It kind of seems to me that chains are not so much of a thing. Which is an issue for us as we don't have 500k just sitting in the bank so would 100% need to sell our current house and then wait for the chain to progress.
As our current house is what I would call a mid life type home I doubt we will get a first time buyer so I expect we would likely get someone who is in a chain? Is this an issue?
I was kind of hoping it would be simple... but all my good ideas turn into very complicated situations!!!
Yes you will need to be able to show the 'cash' is ready to go. Mortgage in principle and sale STCSo, if we want to make an offer on somewhere does ours need to be SSTC first to have any hope of being taken seriously?
Also, do all offers have to go through solicitors? (I have read it does)
It kind of seems to me that chains are not so much of a thing. Which is an issue for us as we don't have 500k just sitting in the bank so would 100% need to sell our current house and then wait for the chain to progress.
As our current house is what I would call a mid life type home I doubt we will get a first time buyer so I expect we would likely get someone who is in a chain? Is this an issue?
I was kind of hoping it would be simple... but all my good ideas turn into very complicated situations!!!
You will need to put your offer in through your solicitor. Theres very little direct contact with the actual seller.
Unless they are there at the viewing the chances of you meeting are slim.
Chains are still a thing. Money will all transfer on the same day in a chain usually.
It may take all day for the chain to reach you though so dont expect the keys by 9.05am.
We got the keys just after lunch and we were at the bottom of the chain.
We moved in the next day.
Another thing on the climate, we used to have a timeshare on the Oban (west) Gulf Stream coast. Our weeks were in Feb. You could go there one year and be up to your knees in snow, and then go the next year, also in Feb, and be sweltering (sort of) in a T-shirt.
OP: if you like views, which you obviously do judging by that beautiful Peebles place you put up earlier, have you considered Brecon Beacons/Black Mountains? £500k will get you a decent (small) smallholding with outbuildings, not in the Beacons park itself but on the outskirts of it.
OP: if you like views, which you obviously do judging by that beautiful Peebles place you put up earlier, have you considered Brecon Beacons/Black Mountains? £500k will get you a decent (small) smallholding with outbuildings, not in the Beacons park itself but on the outskirts of it.
sherman said:
gotoPzero said:
Thanks for the last few posters this is exactly what info I was after I knew the process was different but didnt know a few things.
So, if we want to make an offer on somewhere does ours need to be SSTC first to have any hope of being taken seriously?
Also, do all offers have to go through solicitors? (I have read it does)
It kind of seems to me that chains are not so much of a thing. Which is an issue for us as we don't have 500k just sitting in the bank so would 100% need to sell our current house and then wait for the chain to progress.
As our current house is what I would call a mid life type home I doubt we will get a first time buyer so I expect we would likely get someone who is in a chain? Is this an issue?
I was kind of hoping it would be simple... but all my good ideas turn into very complicated situations!!!
Yes you will need to be able to show the 'cash' is ready to go. Mortgage in principle and sale STCSo, if we want to make an offer on somewhere does ours need to be SSTC first to have any hope of being taken seriously?
Also, do all offers have to go through solicitors? (I have read it does)
It kind of seems to me that chains are not so much of a thing. Which is an issue for us as we don't have 500k just sitting in the bank so would 100% need to sell our current house and then wait for the chain to progress.
As our current house is what I would call a mid life type home I doubt we will get a first time buyer so I expect we would likely get someone who is in a chain? Is this an issue?
I was kind of hoping it would be simple... but all my good ideas turn into very complicated situations!!!
You will need to put your offer in through your solicitor. Theres very little direct contact with the actual seller.
Unless they are there at the viewing the chances of you meeting are slim.
Chains are still a thing. Money will all transfer on the same day in a chain usually.
It may take all day for the chain to reach you though so dont expect the keys by 9.05am.
We got the keys just after lunch and we were at the bottom of the chain.
We moved in the next day.
Blackpuddin said:
Another thing on the climate, we used to have a timeshare on the Oban (west) Gulf Stream coast. Our weeks were in Feb. You could go there one year and be up to your knees in snow, and then go the next year, also in Feb, and be sweltering (sort of) in a T-shirt.
OP: if you like views, which you obviously do judging by that beautiful Peebles place you put up earlier, have you considered Brecon Beacons/Black Mountains? £500k will get you a decent (small) smallholding with outbuildings, not in the Beacons park itself but on the outskirts of it.
I will have a look cheers.OP: if you like views, which you obviously do judging by that beautiful Peebles place you put up earlier, have you considered Brecon Beacons/Black Mountains? £500k will get you a decent (small) smallholding with outbuildings, not in the Beacons park itself but on the outskirts of it.
Yes we want something thats got space around it, so either in a small village or on the outskirts. Good views. Maybe 20 mins to local town by car.
That sort of thing.
you DO NOT need to be SSTC to put an offer in.
What you do need to be is calm, offer what you think the place is worth to you, sit back and wait. NOT get swept along in a bidding frenzy.
Depending where you are coming from the local towns (Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright) may seem like large villages to you.
What you do need to be is calm, offer what you think the place is worth to you, sit back and wait. NOT get swept along in a bidding frenzy.
Depending where you are coming from the local towns (Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright) may seem like large villages to you.
Edited by loskie on Sunday 5th May 20:12
sherman said:
loskie said:
you DO NOT need to be SSTC to put an offer in.
No but you do need to be able to show you are ready to proceed as soon as the offer is accepted.Its best to have all your ducks lined up ready to go.
From offer to moving day was exactly 6 weeks for me last time.
I mean even SSTC doesn't guarantee funds will be available in the foreseeable future. A seller in England can pull out at any time.
Late to this thread but we moved up two years ago to within the triangle you mentioned and have now moved to the coast south of Stranraer and nothing but positives.
Some locals will always complain about 'incomers' but we just get involved in the local village activities and most people welcomed us with open arms.
Midges can be a problem but just find the right spray or cream that works for you and it's manageable.
Yes the internet is ADSL but it's adequate for both of us to work from home and so all good. Did have Starlink for a short period which was great speeds but very expensive.
Some locals will always complain about 'incomers' but we just get involved in the local village activities and most people welcomed us with open arms.
Midges can be a problem but just find the right spray or cream that works for you and it's manageable.
Yes the internet is ADSL but it's adequate for both of us to work from home and so all good. Did have Starlink for a short period which was great speeds but very expensive.
Tant said:
Hello
We moved from English midlands to south Ayrshire back in 2019. We live (or stay, as they say up here), about 30 miles NNE of Stranraer, on the edge of the Galloway forest park in an old farmhouse. The property was great value for what we got, 4 bed house, just shy of 20 acres of land and 1/2 mile river frontage through our fields. It's quiet, peaceful, the nearest street light is 6 miles away and the views on clear nights are incredible.
We are about 20 minutes drive from the sea, about 80 minutes away from Glasgow for a good night out and about 15 miles from Ayr which isn't a bad place at all. The coastal areas around here, and the views of Arran and Ailsa craig are great, and if you stary inland, the forest park is great for long hikes in sparsely used countryside.
We have been here for 5 years...no problems with midgies despite the river and a love of dining outside in summer. The locals made us very welcome and made some great friends nearby. I'm pretty self sufficient with all things practical which is handy as finding good trades people nearby is difficult.
The winters are not bad..tend to be more wet than cold, and we have never been snowed in despite being 200m above sea level on single track roads. Coldest it has been is -9 for a few days a couple of winters ago. The winter just gone has been long and depressingly dull, but when spring comes it is fabulous here. The first 3 springs we had (20/21/22) were very dry and sunny from the start of april, and the summers were great..just warm enough, and Autumn stretched nicely into good weather into October.
Roads are nice and relatively quiet if you fancy a bit of driving.
Let me know if you want anything especially if it's about this sort of area.
Tant
Can't be far away from Barrhill where we first moved to?We moved from English midlands to south Ayrshire back in 2019. We live (or stay, as they say up here), about 30 miles NNE of Stranraer, on the edge of the Galloway forest park in an old farmhouse. The property was great value for what we got, 4 bed house, just shy of 20 acres of land and 1/2 mile river frontage through our fields. It's quiet, peaceful, the nearest street light is 6 miles away and the views on clear nights are incredible.
We are about 20 minutes drive from the sea, about 80 minutes away from Glasgow for a good night out and about 15 miles from Ayr which isn't a bad place at all. The coastal areas around here, and the views of Arran and Ailsa craig are great, and if you stary inland, the forest park is great for long hikes in sparsely used countryside.
We have been here for 5 years...no problems with midgies despite the river and a love of dining outside in summer. The locals made us very welcome and made some great friends nearby. I'm pretty self sufficient with all things practical which is handy as finding good trades people nearby is difficult.
The winters are not bad..tend to be more wet than cold, and we have never been snowed in despite being 200m above sea level on single track roads. Coldest it has been is -9 for a few days a couple of winters ago. The winter just gone has been long and depressingly dull, but when spring comes it is fabulous here. The first 3 springs we had (20/21/22) were very dry and sunny from the start of april, and the summers were great..just warm enough, and Autumn stretched nicely into good weather into October.
Roads are nice and relatively quiet if you fancy a bit of driving.
Let me know if you want anything especially if it's about this sort of area.
Tant
We were advised to sell in England first and rent, which we did and sure this helped when making offers on Scottish properties.
Might be a bit south for your triangle but South West Properties are a good local estate agent
https://www.southwestpropertycentre.co.uk
Might be a bit south for your triangle but South West Properties are a good local estate agent
https://www.southwestpropertycentre.co.uk
Grayedout said:
We were advised to sell in England first and rent, which we did and sure this helped when making offers on Scottish properties.
A friend went through this last year, buying a place west side of Glasgow. Was in a chain in England and basically nobody in Scotland considered his offers until he had the money in the bank from his England sale. Officially it should be possible from what he was told, but the reality is somewhat different. In the end he emptied his place into storage and he and his gf took a short term room rental in a shared house from spareroom website for about £400 a month incl bills and just dossed there til their house sold, which obviously then became more attractive to prospective buyers because there was no longer any chain. He ended up getting £15k more for it too as 2 parties were bidding against each other. Once he had the money in the bank, buying a Scottish place was relatively painless.Nobody likes chains. It's just creates unnecessary hassle and delays with a very high chance of failure if there's more than one link. Pack your s
t into storage, go doss with your parents for a few months until yours sells and then move on.most agents advertise here
https://espc.com/properties?locations=dumfries-and...
but these may be worth specifically looking at too
https://www.threaverural.co.uk/
https://gapinthemarket.com/
https://www.cdrural.co.uk/
https://www.galbraithgroup.com/
https://espc.com/properties?locations=dumfries-and...
but these may be worth specifically looking at too
https://www.threaverural.co.uk/
https://gapinthemarket.com/
https://www.cdrural.co.uk/
https://www.galbraithgroup.com/
2yrs ago, our offer on our Scottish house was accepted, prior to having finishing the sale of our English place - we were halfway through the sale of the English one and it was looking very straightforward and quick. The missives stipulated that we’d only proceed with completing the Scotland house when the English house had completed.
They didn’t seem put off that the cash wasn’t yet in the bank. Don’t know if this is usual or not so I can only say contrary to above it can happen.
Another aspect was moving dates. As our English place went through very quickly, and the Scottish place seller couldn’t move for 6 months as his new house wasn’t yet built, we went into rented and separated the two sales. As mentioned above, the interest of the capital paid for our rent.
Have to say we lucked out, this move was very painless and both sides were very quick. It was just we had to wait for the new house to become vacant.
They didn’t seem put off that the cash wasn’t yet in the bank. Don’t know if this is usual or not so I can only say contrary to above it can happen.
Another aspect was moving dates. As our English place went through very quickly, and the Scottish place seller couldn’t move for 6 months as his new house wasn’t yet built, we went into rented and separated the two sales. As mentioned above, the interest of the capital paid for our rent.
Have to say we lucked out, this move was very painless and both sides were very quick. It was just we had to wait for the new house to become vacant.
My wife is Scottish and we moved up about 20 years ago into a wee [700 pop] village. People have now just started to refer to me by my own name rather than 'Lois's man' and the darts no longer stop in mid-flight if I walk into the pub.
I jest, couldn't be happier and none of it was due to any particular plan, it just sort of worked out that way. Small village just outside Stirling - big enough for a pub, school, shop and the hills literally out of the back gate. The bulk of our meat, eggs etc come from the local farms, friends have been enduring and [too!] very social if you like, weather is about 80% better than the publicity would have you believe, nae midges, 60mins to Edinburgh or Glasgow, Stirling about 10mins, but you could be living in the middle of nowhere. Sort of place everyone waves hello as you drive around.
If you're fancy-pantsy you've got Fairlies at Gleneagles and Glenturret [both 2x Michelin stars] just up the road and a plethora of good eateries in the cities. Stirling itself is not too bad - not as run down as some small cities but we don't bother too much now anyway, a few half-decent places to eat in BofA at least.
My wife and I are keen hill runners/walkers and being on the Highland fault everything north is hill - 40mins Loch Lomond, 90mins up to Glen Coe-ish, just dreamy. Love it.
[Village lower right, Ben Lomond / Arrochar Alps and Ben Ledi on the sky line]
I jest, couldn't be happier and none of it was due to any particular plan, it just sort of worked out that way. Small village just outside Stirling - big enough for a pub, school, shop and the hills literally out of the back gate. The bulk of our meat, eggs etc come from the local farms, friends have been enduring and [too!] very social if you like, weather is about 80% better than the publicity would have you believe, nae midges, 60mins to Edinburgh or Glasgow, Stirling about 10mins, but you could be living in the middle of nowhere. Sort of place everyone waves hello as you drive around.
If you're fancy-pantsy you've got Fairlies at Gleneagles and Glenturret [both 2x Michelin stars] just up the road and a plethora of good eateries in the cities. Stirling itself is not too bad - not as run down as some small cities but we don't bother too much now anyway, a few half-decent places to eat in BofA at least.
My wife and I are keen hill runners/walkers and being on the Highland fault everything north is hill - 40mins Loch Lomond, 90mins up to Glen Coe-ish, just dreamy. Love it.
[Village lower right, Ben Lomond / Arrochar Alps and Ben Ledi on the sky line]
Edited by andy_s on Monday 6th May 09:31
Thanks. We have 3 places we are interested in, I am going to speak to the agents next week but from what people have said I wont be holding my breath because all of them are new to the market so I guess they will want to see how it goes locally first.
Wouldn't particularly want to move into rented tbh. My mrs would be even less keen.
Wouldn't particularly want to move into rented tbh. My mrs would be even less keen.
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