Mortgage guide

Buying a property is dealt with differently in Scotland from the rest of the UK - and what follows does not apply to Scotland.

Once you have found a property you would like to buy, you can make your offer through the estate agent. Normally, the price of a property has a certain amount of leeway built into it, so it is usual to offer less than the asking price. Take into account what state the property is in and if you will need to spend any money on building work or decoration.

It is common to offer up to 10 per cent less than the asking price at first. You may be lucky and have your offer accepted at once, but it is more likely that the owner will expect to negotiate a higher price, especially if more than one person is interested in buying the property. You may even have to offer the full asking price.

Once the owner has accepted your offer, you should get an official letter from the estate agent to confirm this and you can go ahead with things like a survey and confirming your mortgage arrangements. Unfortunately, the acceptance of your offer is not binding in law, so it is still possible for the owner to pull out of the sale at any point up until the exchange of contracts. This could leave you out of pocket if you have spent money on surveyors' fees or a mortgage arrangement fee. However, this is a risk that everyone faces when they buy a property. The sale is only secured by law once a contract is signed and exchanged.

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