10. Buying or Building a House without any Grant Assistance
10.1 Buying an existing house
Once you have decided to buy your home, the home-buying process in Scotland involves:
• shopping around for a lender
• working out how much you can afford to spend
• looking at properties within your price range
• once you have found a property you want, appointing a solicitor
• formally applying for your mortgage
• receiving an 'offer of advance'
• making an offer
• having the offer accepted (at which point a contract is passed between you and the person selling the property)
• finalising the legal arrangements for you becoming the owner of the property
• moving in.
A fuller explanation of what is involved in each of these stages can be found in 'How to Buy a Home in Scotland' available free from HomePoint or at www.communitiesscotland.gov.uk.
A booklet , 'Thinking About Buying', is available free from the Scottish Executive, telephone: 0131 244 2105. The booklet lists all the questions the buyer needs to ask at each stage in the purchase process, with helpful advice. To access the publication electronically, Click Here.
