Once missives have been concluded and the binding contract for your sale is in place, the focus shifts to what happens next. For many sellers, the period between conclusion of missives and the date of entry can feel like a quiet one. In reality, your solicitor is working through a substantial body of legal and administrative work on your behalf. In this article, Wallace Quinn explains the conveyancing process for sellers in Scotland: what your solicitor does, why it matters, and what you can expect between accepting an offer and handing over the keys.
Accepting an offer and concluding missives is a significant milestone. It means both parties are legally committed to the transaction, and from that point forward your solicitor has a clear and detailed task list to work through before settlement can take place. Understanding what is involved helps you appreciate what your solicitor is doing and why, on occasion, things take a little longer than expected.
Ordering Up the Title
The first practical step your solicitor will take is to obtain the title documentation for your property. In Scotland, most residential property is now registered in the Land Register of Scotland, and your solicitor will order up the title sheet for the property. For older properties that have not yet been registered, the title will instead be held in the General Register of Sasines, in which case your solicitor will need to work from the original deeds.
The title sheet or deeds are the legal foundation of the transaction. Everything that follows depends on them being in order. Your solicitor will examine the title to ensure that you have a good and marketable title to the property and to identify anything that may need to be addressed before settlement.
Exhibiting the Title to the Buyer's Solicitor
Once the title documentation has been obtained, your solicitor will send copies to the buyer’s solicitor. In doing so, your solicitor is exhibiting the title: in effect, demonstrating to the buyer’s solicitor that you own what you are selling and that the title is in an acceptable condition.
The buyer’s solicitor will examine the title carefully and may raise written queries, known as observations, if anything requires clarification. Common examples include questions about the extent of the title boundaries, rights of access to the property, the nature of any conditions or burdens attached to the property, or the status of any alterations or extensions carried out during your ownership. Your solicitor will respond to these queries, and in some cases will need to obtain additional documentation, such as completion certificates from the local authority or guarantees from contractors, to satisfy the buyer’s solicitor that everything is in order.
Ordering and Exhibiting the Search Reports
Alongside exhibiting the title, your solicitor will instruct a series of reports on the property. These are typically obtained as a combined report from a specialist search company and form an important part of the information your solicitor assembles to support the transaction.
The combined report comprises three elements. The first is a Property Enquiry Certificate, obtained from the relevant local authority. This confirms whether there are any adverse notices affecting the property, such as enforcement notices or road schemes, and whether the roads, footpaths and sewers serving it are publicly maintained. The second is a report in the property and personal registers, which serves two purposes: it confirms your ownership of the property and establishes that there is no impediment to the sale, such as an inhibition or other matter that might affect your ability to transfer title. The third is a Coal Authority Report, which is generally required for most properties across the central belt of Scotland and confirms whether there are any past mine workings that could adversely affect the property.
These reports are ordered at an early stage in the conveyancing process and, together with the title documentation, provide the buyer’s solicitor with a comprehensive picture of the property and your position as seller. If any of the reports raises a concern, your solicitor will advise you on how to address it before settlement.
Dealing with Planning and Building Warrant Issues
If you have carried out works to the property during your ownership, your solicitor will need to ensure that any relevant planning permissions and building warrants are in order. In Scotland, significant works such as extensions, loft conversions, or certain alterations require building warrant approval from the local authority, and the works must be inspected and certified as complete by way of a completion certificate.
If a completion certificate was not obtained at the time, this can become an issue during the conveyancing process. Your solicitor will advise you on how to address any gaps, which may involve obtaining retrospective approval, providing an architect’s certificate, or in some cases putting indemnity insurance in place to protect the buyer against any future risk.
Revisal and Approval of the Disposition
The disposition is the formal legal document that transfers ownership of your property from you to the buyer. It is the most important document in the transaction. In Scottish conveyancing practice, it is the buyer’s solicitor who prepares the draft disposition and sends it to your solicitor for revisal and approval.
Your solicitor will examine the draft carefully, checking that the property description and boundaries are accurate, that any pertinent rights such as access rights are correctly stated, and that all other terms are in order. If amendments are required, your solicitor will revise the draft and return it to the buyer’s solicitor. Once both sides are satisfied, the disposition is put into its final agreed form and sent to you for signature or invite you into their office to sign.
Your solicitor will advise you on when and how to sign. The signature must be witnessed in accordance with the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995. That means one witness must be present when you sign the disposition and then they must also sign the disposition as the witness to your signature. Once signed, the disposition is retained by your solicitor and exchanged for the purchase price at settlement on the date of entry.
Obtaining a Redemption Figure for Your Mortgage
If you have a mortgage secured against the property, it must be repaid in full on or before the date of entry. Your solicitor will contact your mortgage lender well in advance of settlement to request a redemption figure: the precise amount required to pay off the outstanding balance, including any interest accrued up to the settlement date and any associated charges.
It is important to obtain an accurate redemption figure, as the amount can change from day to day due to daily interest accrual. Your solicitor will request a figure calculated to the expected date of entry and will factor this into the settlement arithmetic, ensuring that sufficient funds are available from the sale proceeds to repay the lender in full.
If there is no mortgage over the property, this step does not apply. In that case, once the purchase price has been received at settlement, your solicitor will deduct their fees and outlays and transfer the net proceeds to you without any prior obligation to a lender. While this simplifies the financial arithmetic at settlement, the legal conveyancing work involved in the transaction remains the same.
Arranging the Discharge of the Standard Security
The document that gives your mortgage lender a legal charge over your property is known as a standard security. Once your mortgage has been repaid at settlement, your lender is required to grant a formal discharge of that standard security, removing their charge from the title.
In practice, the discharge is not always available immediately on the date of entry. Your solicitor will typically repay the mortgage from the settlement funds and then follow up with the lender to obtain the signed discharge document. Once received, the discharge is registered in the Land Register of Scotland, which formally removes the lender’s interest from the title.
Some sellers have more than one standard security registered against their property. This can arise, for example, where a second loan or further advance was taken out at a later date and secured against the property separately. In such cases, each standard security must be discharged individually, and your solicitor will obtain a redemption figure from each lender and arrange for each discharge to be registered after settlement. The same principle applies: the buyer is entitled to receive a title that is free from all secured charges, and your solicitor will ensure that every standard security is accounted for before or at the point of settlement.
Settlement
Settlement is the point at which the transaction completes. On the date of entry, your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor coordinate the exchange of the signed disposition for the purchase price. In Scottish conveyancing, the buyer’s solicitor transfers the purchase price to the seller’s solicitor. When received, the seller’s solicitor will authorise release of the keys and send the signed disposition and any ancillary documentation to the buyer’s solicitor.
Once the funds have been received ownership passes to the buyer from that moment, in terms of the missives, and the buyer’s solicitor takes over responsibility for registering the disposition in the Land Register.
Your solicitor will then apply the funds received: repaying your mortgage lender or lenders, settling their own fees and outlays, and paying any remaining balance to you. This is done promptly after settlement, usually on the same day.
After Settlement
Once settlement has taken place, your solicitor’s remaining tasks are to obtain and register the discharge or discharges of any standard securities, confirm to you that the transaction has completed, and issue a financial statement showing how the proceeds of the sale have been applied. The financial statement will account for the full purchase price received, your solicitor’s fees, any outlays paid on your behalf, the mortgage redemption or redemptions, and the net amount paid to you.
A Process Designed to Protect You
The conveyancing process for sellers involves considerably more than simply signing a document and handing over the keys. Your solicitor is coordinating the legal, documentary, and financial elements of the transaction on your behalf, ensuring that everything is in order for a clean and straightforward settlement. From obtaining the title to discharging your mortgage and releasing the keys, each step is designed to protect you and to ensure that the transaction completes without complications.
If you are selling your property in Scotland and would like to speak to one of our solicitors about what to expect, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Wallace Quinn.
Why Choose Wallace Quinn
Selling a property is one of the most significant financial transactions you will ever make, and having an experienced solicitor in your corner makes all the difference. At Wallace Quinn, we guide sellers through every stage of the conveyancing process, from the moment an offer is accepted through to settlement and beyond. We explain each step clearly, keep you informed throughout, and deal with any complications that arise without unnecessary delay.
With offices in Glasgow, Livingston and Bathgate (The Conveyancing Practice), we support sellers across the central belt and beyond. Whether your transaction is straightforward or requires more careful handling, we are here to protect your interests and ensure that your sale completes as smoothly as possible.
Frequently Asked Questions: The Conveyancing Process for Sellers in Scotland
Q: What does my solicitor actually do after missives are concluded?
A: Once missives are concluded, your solicitor orders up the title documentation and sends it to the buyer’s solicitor, responds to any queries raised on the title, revises and approves the disposition, obtains redemption figures from any mortgage lenders, coordinates settlement, and arranges the discharge of any standard securities after the sale funds have been received. It is a substantial body of work, most of which takes place in the background.
Q: How long does the conveyancing process take after missives are concluded?
A: There is no fixed timescale. In a straightforward transaction it typically takes between four and eight weeks from conclusion of missives to the date of entry, though this can vary depending on the complexity of the title, how quickly any queries are resolved, and how much time is available before the agreed date of entry. Your solicitor will keep you informed throughout.
Q: Who prepares the disposition?
A: In Scottish conveyancing practice, it is the buyer’s solicitor who prepares the draft disposition and sends it to the seller’s solicitor for revisal and approval. Once both solicitors are satisfied with the terms, the disposition is put into its final form and signed by the seller. The signed disposition is then retained by the seller’s solicitor and exchanged for the purchase price at settlement on the date of entry.
Q: What happens to my mortgage when I sell my property?
A: Your mortgage must be repaid in full on or before the date of entry. Your solicitor will contact your lender to obtain a redemption figure calculated to the settlement date and will repay the outstanding balance from the sale proceeds on the date of entry. Your lender will then issue a formal discharge of the standard security, which your solicitor will register to remove the lender’s charge from the title.
Q: What if I have no mortgage on my property?
A: If your property is unencumbered, the process is simpler from a financial perspective. There is no redemption figure to obtain and no standard security to discharge. Once the purchase price is received at settlement, your solicitor will deduct their fees and outlays and transfer the net proceeds to you directly. The legal conveyancing work involved remains the same.
Q: What if I have more than one mortgage or secured loan on my property?
A: Each standard security registered against the title must be discharged separately. Your solicitor will obtain a redemption figure from each lender and arrange for each discharge to be registered after settlement. The buyer is entitled to receive a title free from all secured charges, and your solicitor will ensure every standard security is fully dealt with.
Q: What is a standard security?
A: A standard security is the legal document that gives your mortgage lender a charge over your property as security for the loan. It is registered in the Land Register of Scotland. When your mortgage is repaid on settlement of your sale, your lender grants a discharge of the standard security, which is then registered to formally remove their interest from the title.
Q: What happens at settlement?
A: Settlement is the point at which ownership transfers. Your solicitor and the buyer’s solicitor coordinate the exchange of the signed disposition for the purchase price. Once your solicitor has confirmed receipt of the funds, the keys are released and ownership passes to the buyer. Your solicitor will then repay your mortgage lender or lenders, deduct their fees and outlays, and transfer the net proceeds to you, usually on the same day.
Q: What if the buyer's solicitor raises queries on my title?
A: It is entirely normal for the buyer’s solicitor to raise queries during the conveyancing process. Your solicitor will respond to these on your behalf. In most cases, queries are straightforward and can be resolved by providing documentation or additional information. If there is a more complex issue with the title, your solicitor will advise you on the options available, which may include obtaining indemnity insurance or taking steps to rectify the title before settlement.
Q: Will I receive a breakdown of how my sale proceeds have been applied?
A: Yes. After settlement, your solicitor will issue a financial statement setting out the full purchase price received, the amounts deducted for fees and outlays, any mortgage redemptions, and the net sum paid to you. This provides a clear and transparent account of how the proceeds of the sale have been applied.
If you liked this, you might also like these articles:
- ❇️ Accepting an Offer on Your Property in Scotland
- ❇️ Understanding Missives in Scottish Property Transactions
- ❇️ Conveyancing for Buyers in Scotland: What Your Solicitor Does to Protect Your Purchase
- ❇️ What is a Home Report?
- ❇️ Can I pull out of a house sale?
- ❇️ A Comprehensive Guide to Buying a House in Scotland