New Build Conveyancing – Costs and FAQs

On top of the price to purchase the property, there are various fees, taxes and charges you will have pay.  You can get an instant quote now at www.wallacequinn.co.uk/new-build-calculator

A ‘missive’ is a legal term for the ‘contract’ between the buyer and seller of a property.  When you sign the missives both parties have the security of knowing the sale will proceed.  We would normally sign the missives on your behalf.

Not quite.  Once missives have been concluded, the process of transferring ownership from the builder takes place.  This is known as ‘conveyancing’.

In any property sale, there is at least one buyer, a seller and two solicitors.  In addition, there is your mortgage company, your bank and the seller’s bank.  If you are using a government assistance scheme, they’ll have an interest and also a solicitor.  Ensuring all of the pieces of the puzzle are aligned can take a few weeks but we’ll give you an estimated date for completion and keep you updated at every step of the process.

Tell your builder that you have appointed Wallace Quinn and they will arrange to send us the ‘missives’.  We’ll go through them with you and all of the other steps required to get the property purchased. We have strict legal requirements, including anti-money laundering regulations, that we have to undertake meaning we have to ask you for proof of identity and information on where the funds being used to purchase the property come from. Almost all of this process can be done electronically, meaning you only need to come into our office once to sign documents, usually in the days before the sale concludes.

You can grant a ‘Power of Attorney’ which gives somebody you trust power to act on your behalf.  We can help you put all necessary paperwork in place, but we cannot be both your solicitor and your Power of Attorney.

The full purchase price for the property along with funds to cover all taxes, charges and fees must be lodged with us in the days prior to your completion date.  At the appropriate time (usually the day before you move) we will release funds to the seller’s solicitors, who will then release the funds to the seller. If you require a mortgage, you will lodge the agreed deposit amount with us, while your mortgage provider will lodge the remaining balance. If you are involved in the Scottish Government backed ‘Help To Buy (Scotland)’ or ‘First Home Fund’ Scheme, the scheme’s administrators will lodge that proportion of the balance with us. Your deposit can only be paid by bank transfer, cheque or bankers draft (you cannot use a credit or debit card). If using a cheque, we recommend you provide it at least a week before the money is due. If paying by bankers’ draft, we also require a letter from the bank confirming that the funds have come from your account.

Once we have settled all of the bills, taxes, charges and fees, the seller’s solicitor will confirm everything and then instruct the builder to release to the keys to you.

You’ll get a ‘post completion statement’ from us summarising everything that’s happened and then we’ll get out of your way and let you get the carpets down and the walls painted!  If you are due any cashback, we’ll arrange to transfer that into your bank within three to five working days.

This should be clearly explained in the mortgage offer you received from your provider.  If you have any doubts, you should speak with your lender or your financial advisor.

Of course.  Please contact our ‘New Build’ conveyancing team in either our Livingston or Glasgow office.  There is also lots of information at www.wallacequinn.co.uk