Purchase and Sale

Question 1

What legislation do you need to be aware of when selling land or houses?

Answer 1

Code of practice for residential estate agents in Scotland

Question 2

What are the methods of sale?

Answer 2

Private treaty, Formal tenders, Informal tenders, auction

Question 3

Describe Private Treaty.

Answer 3

In a private treaty sale, the property is listed with a guide price, and the estate agent will market your property to potential buyers. The seller then works with their agent to accept, reject, or negotiate offers.

Question 4

Describe informal tender.

Answer 4

With an informal tender sale, potential buyers submit sealed bids by a specified deadline. The seller then reviews the bids and selects the one they find most favourable. It might not necessarily be the highest bid, but perhaps the one that offers more certainty, flexibility or the quickest sale.

Question 5

Describe formal tender.

Answer 5

In a formal tender scenario, as with an informal tender, the sale is advertised with a deadline by which all prospective purchasers must submit written bids.
This method of sale is not as commonly seen in recent years due to its complex nature and the rigid structure of the formal tender process

Question 6

Describe auction.

Answer 6

In a property auction, the property is sold to the highest bidder on the day of the auction. A reserve price (the minimum price the seller is willing to accept) is set, and if the bidding does not reach this amount, the property may not be sold.

Question 7

You instructed a home report for a residential property, can you tell me what the three sections of a home report is?

Answer 7

Single survey and valuation
Property Questionnaire
Energy Report

Question 8

Can you tell me how missives differ from exchanging contracts in England?

Answer 8

The time period between the conclusion of missives and the Date of Entry in Scotland tends to be much longer than the time period between the exchange of contracts and the completion date in England.
In Scotland a Date of Entry tends to be agreed at the outset of the transaction and the conclusion of missives tends to occur weeks if not months in advance of the Date of Entry.

Question 9

You valued small areas of small garden ground for sale purposes, how did you go about this?

Answer 9

The grounds sold often have a development value I value this at a rate of £100,000/ acre. Due to the size of the grounds for sale this agreed upon on a m2 basis which comes to £24.71/m2.

Question 10

How did you find the figure per m2 stacked up against say a 300 acre farm?

Answer 10

The m2 figure is at a far higher rate than a usual 300 acre farm. Usually in my area (depending on the ground) this sits around £4,000-£8,000/ acre.

Question 11

Within a home report what is included in the single survey?

Answer 11

This section, based on a visual inspection by a chartered surveyor, tells you about the home, its condition, its accessibility and any repairs you may need to carry out.

Question 12

What sort of questions are covered in a property questionnaire?

Answer 12

the home’s council tax band
any issues that may have affected the home in the past, like fire or storm damage or asbestos
any alterations or extensions that have been made to the home
details of any specialist works or guarantees
details of any notices that might affect the home

Question 13

What is the penalty for not providing a home report with a sale?

Answer 13

If someone is interested in buying and you don’t give them a Home Report within 9 days of them asking for it, you can be fined £500 by your council’s trading standards service.

Question 14

What is a missive?

Answer 14

These letters are used to negotiate the conditions you and the buyer have, so you can both come to an agreement.

Once you’re both happy with the conditions, a ‘concluding missive’ will be written. This is a binding contract between you and the buyer.

Question 15

What was the process of selling the farmhouse?

Answer 15

We opted to use an estate agency rather than marketing through our own agency for the client
I sent an initial instruction to the solicitor
I filled out the property questionnaire
Arranged for a surveyor to conduct a home report
Estate Agents then carried their photos and create a market appraisal to sell the property
Once an offer was received I liaised with the client and discussed the offer which they accepted
Estate agents then sent a qualified acceptance
Missives were then discussed between solicitors
Concluding missive is written
Then conveyancing
Disposition
Settlement

Question 16

What was the process of selling a garden ground?

Answer 16

Visit the potential purchaser and inspect the ground which they are wishing to purchase
During the meeting I noted boundary features and check for third party access (Scottish Water SSEN etc)
I then measure the area on an OS data set and come back to the purchaser with a valuation
Our client does not negotiate the rates
I then write a case sheet for the client to decide on whether they would like to progress
I contact the purchaser’s solicitor and our clients solicitor
Fill out a property questionnaire
Fill out an offer to sell
Completion statement
The solicitors handle the disposition and settlement