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Your lender will run credit history checks on your financial conduct (credit cards, arrears) and subject to a satisfactory outcome and other key considerations such as affordability and also a satisfactory property valuation report to confirm value the lender will then issue a letter to confirm the mortgage is approved.

When you borrow money from a bank or building society, your lender will ask to see details of your Insurance policy before they transfer the funds for the purchase of the new property. This ensures their investment is secured against risk.

These fees are fixed by the government and are a compulsory cost when purchasing a new property. The level of fee is on a scale which will vary depending on the price of the property. This will then place your name on the Land Register as the new owners of the property.

The date of completion is when the terms of the Missives are exercised. In practice this means that you will pay the purchase price and, in return, get the keys to the property, deeds and documents relating to the property from Tulloch Homes. 

This “Council of Mortgage Lenders” CML Disclosure of Incentives form is completed by Tulloch Homes. It is supplied to the solicitor acting on behalf of the lender providing the mortgage finance for the property and to the valuer acting on behalf of the lender.

Tulloch Homes are obliged to disclose the value of any financial or non-financial/in-kind incentives received by the purchaser either before or after completion of the transaction.

This is the day that you take possession of your new home and the purchase price is paid.

This is the money that the lender requires the purchaser to contribute towards the cost of the property. This is usually 5% or 10%. This is to demonstrate the buyer’s commitment and is the difference between the purchase price and mortgage amount.

All the costs that are incurred in the course of the purchase of the new property which your solicitors will settle and add to the purchaser’s account.

A professional property manager appointed to maintain the common areas within developments. An annual payment is made by all properties on the development called a factor’s fee. An initial factor’s float is payable at settlement.

In order to officially own your new property, your name(s) must be registered against the property in the Land Register of Scotland. The Register charges a compulsory fee for this service. Prices are fixed by the government and will vary depending on the purchase price of the property. 

Land & Buildings Tax (LBTT), which replaced UK Stamp Duty, is charged by the Scottish Government if you buy a residential property.

Tax is payable at different rates on each portion of the purchase price within specified tax bands.

For transactions from 1 April 2021 onwards, the ceiling of the nil-rate band for residential LBTT is £145,000.

Since 30 June 2018, first-time buyers in Scotland have benefited from a relief on LBTT. The relief effectively raises the starting threshold for first-time buyers from £145,000 to £175,000.

If you are buying an additional residential property in Scotland (such as buy-to-let or second home) of £40,000 or more, the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) of LBTT applies.

The ADS is charged at 4% of the total purchase price.

Check the LBTT property transactions calculator here.

Future planning decisions can affect properties; therefore your solicitor may in some cases conduct a search to establish if the home you wish to purchase is likely to be affected by any adjacent planning consents.

A Loan to Value ratio is used to show the size of the mortgage finance as a percentage of the total value of the property.

The Missives are just another name for the contract to purchase the property. The missive is sent out by Tulloch Homes (the builder) to your acting solicitor. This is a legal document which your solicitor will advise on & discuss with you before signing and returning to the seller (the builder), Tulloch Homes. There may be some correspondence on the finer details between both solicitors and when these points are agreed on all the details of the offer, the missives are then said to be concluded. This now means that both parties have entered into a legally binding contract for your purchase of the new property. There are penalties for non compliances in terms of the missives.

A mortgage is a loan obtained from a Bank or Building society. This loan is used to help purchase your new property and the lender takes a security over your property and may retain your title deeds until the mortgage is repaid.

This is an insurance policy which may be arranged in conjunction with a repayment mortgage. This type of policy protects your repayments in the event of redundancy.

Reservation is when your chosen plot is assigned to you and is no longer on sale. To reserve you will complete the reservation form with the help of your sales consultant and pay a £750 fee. The reservation form also contains details of our cancelation policy.

As part of the process of buying a new home, your solicitor will almost always order ‘searches’ on the property. The particular searches ordered will depend on the property and area, but some of the most common are a PEC, Coal Report and Environmental Search. The searches check the seller’s title to the property and disclose other information about the property such as whether there are previous securities over the property, planning conditions, coal mining nearby, and the conditions of roads and water facilities. The cost of obtaining Searches is met by the purchaser.

This word is used within the building industry to describe the process of checking for any faults or defects that may have occurred during the building process. These defects are documented by the Sales Consultants at the pre-handover meeting and may be rectified before or after the date of entry to the new property.

The period of time that the mortgage is taken out over a number of years. This is usually 25 years but can vary to suit the purchaser’s requirements.

The rights and obligation that are attached and affect the property. Title deeds – Prove ownership of the property. Report on title – The work your solicitor undertakes on your behalf will result in a certificate confirming that the title has been checked and is acceptable to the buyer. The lender will require this solicitors’ certificate before the mortgage money will be released for the new purchase.