Buying in Edinburgh: Home Reports, closing dates and missives

About Buying in Edinburgh: Home Reports, closing dates and missives

By the ULTIMATE Edinburgh Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Buying a home in Scotland follows its own process, set out on mygov.scot. Most homes come with a Home Report; your solicitor notes your interest with the seller; if several buyers note interest, the seller sets a closing date for offers; and the deal becomes binding once the solicitors’ letters, called missives, are concluded. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is paid to Revenue Scotland.

The Scottish way

If you like a home and its Home Report, your solicitor formally notes your interest. If a number of people do the same, the seller sets a closing date for offers. After an offer is accepted, the solicitors exchange letters called missives; once they are concluded, you have a binding contract (mygov.scot).

Where people live

The Georgian New Town and Stockbridge, the West End’s Victorian terraces, Bruntsfield and Morningside by the Links, the Grange on the Southside, Leith by the water and Portobello by the sea: see our property guide.

Instruct a Scottish solicitor before you view: in Scotland, solicitors note interest and make offers for you.

The agents

ESPC, the Edinburgh Solicitors’ Property Centre, lists homes from the city’s solicitor estate agents; national firms such as Knight Frank, Savills and Strutt & Parker, and Scottish firms such as Rettie, Galbraith and Clyde Property, have Edinburgh teams. We never publish prices.

Our advice: read the buying guide on mygov.scot before you start.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Buying in Edinburgh: Home Reports, closing dates and missives before you go.