Every step of the property ladder

10th June 2022

Whether you are buying or selling, Garden Stirling Burnet’s team of local property experts are with you every step of the way. We are here to make the process as straightforward and easy as possible for you. In this edition, our specialist team bring you some very practical property related advice.

Choose the East Lothian property specialists
Marie Cook, Senior Sales Negotiator

From the initial search and setting up alerts to give you a nudge when a property you might like the look of comes onto the market, to providing specialist advice on putting in an offer and closing the deal. We pride ourselves on speaking to our customers in a language they understand – there’s no jargon here, just solid advice.

Let us take care of the paperwork and all the little details, while you can decide what colour to paint the living room or who’s getting what bedroom. This is stress-free house moving.

Can’t quite find what you’re looking for? New properties come to the market almost every single day, so if you haven’t found your dream home just yet – please do get in touch.

Buying a property
Gurwinder Singh, Sales Negotiator

Buying a house is potentially one of the biggest purchases you’ll ever make, which is why we want to help you understand the process from start to finish. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or looking to move up the property ladder, we’ll make sure you know exactly what’s involved.

In most cases the process of buying a house looks like this:
• Appoint your solicitor.
• Get mortgage advice from an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) – they’ll check you can afford to buy a house and help you pick the best mortgage.
• Secure an Agreement in Principle – this shows you have a mortgage agreement underway, which can help when making an offer on a property.
• Search for your ideal property and view your shortlisted properties.
• Look at the Home Report for more details on any properties you’re interested in.
• Make an offer on a property you like and get it accepted.
• Finalise your mortgage with your IFA.
• Finalise the details of your offer, agree a move in date, go through the missives and sort out any legal matters with your solicitor.

Selling a property
Audrey Turner, Senior Sales Negotiator

Trust us as local experts to get your properties out there and in front of the best potential buyers. We believe simple, easy to understand advice about selling your home is what every homeowner deserves. Here is a summary of the various steps involved in selling your house:

• Check your current mortgage with an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) or with your mortgage lender – find out what the minimum offer you can accept on your house is and if you can transfer your mortgage to a new property.
• Choose a solicitor to take care of the sale of your property.
• Get a free pre-sale valuation from GSB Property.
• Have a Home Report carried out.
• Market your property – from sales boards and schedules, to ESPC.com listings, we’ll get you maximum exposure.
• Prepare your house for sale and host viewings.
• Work with us to negotiate closing date, offers, date of entry and other details.
• Accept an offer.
• Conclude the missives.
• Draw up new title deeds and transfer ownership of the property.
• Move out on the agreed date.

What is residential conveyancing?

Conveyancing involves legally transferring home ownership from the seller to the buyer and you will need the services of a residential conveyancer if you are buying a new home, selling your home or transferring ownership. Your conveyancer will also complete the remortgage transaction and discharge your mortgage once it has been repaid.

Residential conveyancing when buying your home
We can help you with all the legal aspects of buying your home including:
• Speaking to your mortgage lender.
• Completing your transfer documents.
• Preparing your loan documents.
• Advising you on LBTT (land and buildings transaction tax) implications.
• Our Estate Agency team can also support you in areas such as noting interest in a property, arranging a survey and negotiating offers.

Residential conveyancing when selling your home
We can help you with all the important aspects of selling your home, including:
• Creating a tailored marketing strategy to increase exposure and reach potential buyers.
• Offering advice on any offers you receive, negotiating the price and date of entry, plus any conditions specific to the sale.
• Issuing an acceptance on your behalf, which protects your best interests and arranging to have the contract of sale binding on both parties.
• Completing all the searches, preparing the transfer documents and answering any questions raised by the buyers’ solicitors.
• Arranging for the repayment of your mortgage – both in terms of establishing how much is outstanding and making sure the balance is paid when the transaction is completed.
• Settling the transaction, which involves letting your Council Tax Office know of the change of ownership and sending the proceeds of the sale direct to you.

Talk to us today about how we can find you the best tenants and take care of the paperwork when letting out your property.