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Having experienced both systems, I regard the Scottish system for buying and selling property as far more stressful than the English system. This is because if the timing is not perfect things can go horribly wrong. Also, the "offers over" price can be wildly misleading so you don't even know, when you view a particular house, whether you can afford it.
I came unstuck last time I sold and my current home was really a choice of the Hobsons variety. At that time there were several properties I liked on the market before I secured a sale on mine but all of them sold a week or two before I was in a position to make an offer.
I'm now wondering if I do have to wait for mine to sell before making an offer on the one I want to buy? Can I make an offer subject to the sale of my current house? If so, do I still have to include a completion date as part of the offer?
Another question concerns the Home Report. Is it true that I am allowed to compile this myself? I'm planning to do my own schedule and photos for marketing the property, which will be advertised on the internet. I have a solicitor for the conveyancing but if possible I would like to do everything else myself.
I have seen a property that I like but there is only the one so if I can't have it I want to stay where I am.
Can't really answer your question As you say it is not the ideal way to go about buying property.
A few years ago, I put in an offer for a house that was accepted, and an entry date given, I then struggled to sell my own house and had to get a bridging loan which ended up costing about £5,000.
Even more reciently, we put in an offer for a property, it again was accepted but we could not sell our house for the price we wanted, in the end we could not conclude the purchase and the owners of the house actioned court procedures and we had to pay their costs, which amounted to £30,000
Money we did not have, so had to re-mortgage and will be paying it off for a long long time.
I should have learnt my lesson the first time, It's very important to sell your own house before buying another.
Regards.
Scott.
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I certainly can't afford to be taken to court or have a bridging loan so perhaps the only way is to get an offer on mine before making an offer on the next place. If I can get an offer accepted on the one I want before giving a response on the offer for mine I can at least do it without the risk of making myself homeless.
My main reason for not using a local estate agent is that they do not offer a "no sale, no fee" service, which is what you generally expect from their English counterparts. This means their fee is assured and there is little incentive for them to actively look for a purchaser. Perhaps large numbers of sellers have been using property websites instead of estate agents. The professionals have the last laugh though, with their latest licence to print money, the Home Report.
There are winners and losers in both systems, but I would say that the Scottish system is stricter, leaving no room for 'gazumping' which out English cousins have to take in their stride. Similarly, the 'over over' process is designed to provide an indication, but there's nothing to state that any seller would object to this - it ensured the best price is available. If you do not wish to enter this type of lottery, then go for Fixed Price deals where the final price IS known.
I recently attempted to buy two properties for a family member, in the first, the O/o price was £90k, I bid £124k and lost, it actually sold for £144k, but it wasn't worth that (to me), but clearly it was to the desperate buyer. I didn't hear the seller complaining!
The second attempt was more successful, with the O/o figure for a similar property (but in need of renovation) was £79k. I bid £120k and some change, but the other (unknown) bidder also bid £120 on the nose. I won, simply because I added £123 to get away from a round figure. My family were delighted with my acumen - but at no time were we gazumped.
House Selling Dilemma
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As you say it is not the ideal way to go about buying property.
