Selling, stage by stage
Timescales are typical rather than fixed. Every sale moves at its own pace.
Timescale: Before you list
You: Arrange a free valuation
Your solicitor estate agent: Advises on price and timing
A member firm will visit, give you a realistic view of what the property should go on at, and talk through timings, costs and the Home Report. Because they’re a solicitor as well as an estate agent, they can advise on the legal side at the same time — title issues, boundaries, anything unusual in the deeds.
Most valuations are free and carry no obligation.
Timescale: Around 1 week
You: Give the surveyor access and fill in the questionnaire
Your solicitor estate agent: Instructs it and explains the result
You can’t market a property in Scotland without a Home Report. It has three parts: a single survey with a valuation, an energy performance certificate, and a property questionnaire you complete yourself.
Buyers rely on it, and lenders usually lend against its valuation rather than the price agreed — so it shapes what you can realistically achieve. Your solicitor estate agent will talk you through anything in it that might affect the sale.
Timescale: 1-2 weeks to prepare
You: Get the property ready
Your solicitor estate agent: Photography, listing, marketing
Declutter, fix the small things, and let as much light in as possible. It sounds obvious, and it consistently makes a difference to both the photographs and the viewings.
Your firm handles photography, the listing, and marketing through the local SPC — which is where most serious buyers in the area are looking first.
Timescale: Varies
You: Keep it presentable
Your solicitor estate agent: Arranges and often conducts them
Most member firms will handle viewings for you, including at weekends. Some sellers prefer to do their own – worth discussing, because buyers are often franker with an agent than with the owner.
Feedback comes back through the firm, and if interest is slow they’ll tell you honestly whether it’s the price, the presentation or the market.
Timescale: Varies
You: Decide which offer to take
Your solicitor estate agent: Negotiates on your behalf
Offers come in writing through the buyer’s solicitor. If several buyers note interest, your firm may recommend setting a closing date – a deadline for best offers, submitted once.
Price isn’t the only thing to weigh. A slightly lower offer from a buyer with finance in place and no property to sell may be the safer one. Your solicitor estate agent will give you a view on each.
Timescale: 4–8 weeks
You: Agree the date of entry and pack
Your solicitor estate agent: Concludes missives and settles
Missives are the formal letters that form the contract – price, date of entry, what’s included, any conditions. Once they conclude, the sale is binding on both sides.
Between then and the date of entry, your solicitor prepares the title and arranges settlement. On the day, funds transfer and keys are handed over.
Offers over, or a fixed price?
Offers over sets a minimum and invites buyers to bid above it. It works well where demand is strong, and it’s what most Scottish properties are marketed at.
Fixed price sets one figure and takes the first acceptable offer. It suits a quieter market, or a seller who needs certainty and speed more than the last few thousand pounds.
The Home Report valuation is the anchor for both. Most buyers can only borrow against it, so pricing far above it narrows your pool of buyers considerably. Your solicitor estate agent will tell you what similar properties in the area have actually been achieving.
Selling and buying at the same time
Most sellers are also buying, and the timing is the hard part. In Scotland the two transactions are tied together through the date of entry – the aim is to have both fall on the same day, or close to it.
Because the same firm can handle both sides, a solicitor estate agent can line the dates up rather than coordinating with a separate conveyancer. If the dates can’t be matched, they’ll talk you through the options, including bridging finance.
Bridging is a regulated financial product and won’t suit everyone. Take advice on your own circumstances before committing.
What it costs to sell
- Home Report – cost depends on the size and value of the property.
- Marketing – photography, the listing and any additional advertising. Your firm will set this out up front.
- Legal fees – for the conveyancing on the sale.
- Estate agency fee – usually a percentage of the sale price, agreed before you list.
Member firms quote their own fees. Ask for a written breakdown before you instruct anyone.