Solicitors for selling a house
We have one of the largest residential property teams in Scotland and more than 25 years’ experience of helping clients sell their homes.
Overview
Selling a home in Scotland
The process of selling a home is one of the most significant transactions in most people’s lives. It can also be one of the most stressful. At Harper Macleod, we work hard to alleviate this through good client care and regular contact with our professional staff.
Consulting a solicitor at an early stage for advice can save you a great deal of money and time. Our wide ranging experience enables us to provide you with independent and objective advice on the best choice of estate agent to market your property based on your area, the most suitable surveyor to carry out your Home Report and what else you need to do in advance of marketing your property with a view to achieving a successful sale.
With the right advisers dealing with the sale of your property, the logistics of moving should be your only concerns.
Additional services
When moving house, there are many tasks you require to complete yourself such as re-direction of mail, advising banks and building societies of your new address, providing utility suppliers with meter readings, and let’s not forget the organising of the house warming party for your new home!
We can assist with a number of your other tasks, such as:
- Advising the Local Authority of the change of ownership so that Council Tax can be apportioned
- Advising Factors of the change of ownership to ensure that any common charges are apportioned
- Settling estate agents’ and Factors’ accounts from the sale proceeds (assuming there are sufficient funds)
- Repaying your existing mortgage on completion of your sale
- Arranging for the discharge of the lenders’ security over the property
Key contacts
THE TEAM
FAQS
Common questions about house sales
What paperwork do I need to sell my home?
Who is responsible for negotiating the price?
What happens once an offer has been accepted?
What paperwork do I need to sell my home?
Overview
In preparation for a sale, it is wise to gather together all the information and paperwork a prospective purchaser may require, such as Local Authority documentation for alterations carried out or Guarantees for specialist timber repairs.
In addition, the property’s title deeds, where there is a mortgage over the property, will have to be ordered from the appropriate lender.
All of this can be done in advance of an offer being received for the property and this all assists in ensuring missives are concluded as swiftly as possible, upon receipt of the successful offer from the estate agents.
Who is responsible for negotiating the price?
Overview
Generally where you have instructed an estate agent, they will conduct the negotiations with the purchaser’s solicitors on your behalf to make sure that your property is sold at the best possible price. However, we can become involved in this process, should you so wish.
We can also advise you on how to deal with viewers who try to negotiate a price with you directly.
What happens once an offer has been accepted?
Overview
Once an acceptable offer has been received by the estate agents, this will be forwarded to us and we will then proceed to take your formal instructions on the offer.
This is the first stage in negotiating the conclusion of “missives” or sale contract on your behalf. Should it transpire that some piece of documentation is unavailable or missing (e.g. in respect of previous alterations to the property, or older title deeds or plans relating to the property) which is required to
complete the sale, we will obtain a copy for you.
The purchaser’s solicitors will also draft the appropriate documentation to transfer title to the property into their client’s name and we will revise
this and approve it on your behalf.
“Thank you for the great, professional service from Susan Breen and Lia Allan. Their excellent communication and information made the sale of our house so much easier. Special thanks also to Leanne Maitland as our solicitor. I will definitely recommend you to others.”
“My wife Marion and I, Alistair, would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Harper Macleod LLP for their professionalism and patience during our complicated house sale, which spanned approximately one year. Special thanks to Susan and Lia.”
“I recently used Harper Macleod solicitors for buying and selling property. They were fantastic, keeping me well-informed via phone and email throughout the entire process. Susan Shand was very professional and helpful. She supported me with my queries and took the time to explain everything in detail. I would highly recommend Harper Macleod and would use them again in the future. Thanks for everything.”
“This was my first time using Harper Macleod to sell a house and it was a positive experience. It took longer than I had hoped, as the first offer we accepted failed, due to prospective buyers being unable to sell their property. Aileen advised us at every stage on what was happening and what our best course of action would be. Sonya organised all the viewings and asked for valuable feedback to prevent time wasting. I would recommend Harper Macleod.”
“Susan Breen (Property Manager) and Andrea Ross (Senior Associate) at Harper Macleod, Inverness, did a wonderful job successfully guiding and supporting my wife and me through the process of selling our home and buying a new one. It was as seamless a process as I could ever imagine. It was a real pleasure to work with two professionals who were always happy to make themselves and their expertise available to us. One key aspect of HM’s service that stood out to me was that both Susan and Andrea were proactive in driving the sale and purchase processes to completion. They made things happen, rather than waiting for them to happen. We can’t recommend Harper Macleod, and especially Susan and Andrea, highly enough.”
“I am writing to express my heartfelt thanks for your exceptional assistance during the sale of our house. Your professionalism, dedication, and timely updates on all notes of interest and inquiries have been invaluable. Your attentive care and consistent communication ensured a smooth and stress-free process, and I truly appreciate the effort you put into keeping me informed every step of the way. Thank you once again for your outstanding support. It has been a pleasure working with you.”
“Brilliant experience selling our home. Susan and Lia were both fantastic and kept us updated at all times. We couldn’t have asked for anything more. Thanks!”
“They handled the sale of my house and I am very pleased and would not hesitate to recommend them. Andrea Ross dealt with the legal part in a very professional way.”
“Andrea Ross is an exceptional solicitor. Her professionalism, expertise and dedication make dealing with her a truly remarkable experience. I highly recommend her. I received the excellent professional and efficient service. I very much appreciate Andrea’s hard work and commitment to progressing my sale and purchase as quickly as possible.”
“Stress-free and professional estate agency and conveyancing. Karen, Susan and their teams at the Elgin office handled all aspects of the house marketing, sale and conveyancing, swiftly, professionally, without fuss and offering value for money. The house sold in the 1st week! It’s been a delight to work with Harper Macleod, as we have done , and will continue to do, with other departments and offices across Scotland. Strongly recommended.”
“Great experience with Scott King who handled our Shetland house sale and Dumfries and Galloway purchase.”
“This was our first experience of selling and buying a house, we initially had another solicitor but she passed us over to Will at a very early stage. He was excellent at every aspect of this stressful event. The buyers solicitor was less than helpful at providing information but Will kept us updated at every small step. The estate agency staff were also very good at helping us market our house. We have nothing but praise for all the staff at Harper Macleod for helping us secure our forever home. Thank you everyone.”
“Great service. I used Harper Macleod for both a purchase and then sale of a property. Very professional throughout both experiences.”
“I had a very positive experience working with Andrea Ross. She very professionally and efficiently completed my home purchase. I was in the new cottage in just over one month with all of my questions answered and my mind at ease. I would not hesitate to recommend Harper Macleod and Andrea Ross.”
“A quick and efficient and smooth sale of property using Harper Macleod and Lori in their legal team.”
“Andrea Ross at Harper Macleod has helped us with selling our house and then buying a new one. She has exceeded my expectations and provided good advice which helped us with decision making. All legal work was concluded ahead of schedule. Highly recommended.”
“Very efficient and professional, yet at the same time friendly and approachable. We especially liked the promptness of reply.”
“Just wanted to say thank you for all your help with the sale, it really has seemed very easy and stress free.”
“Susan Breen was incredibly professional and always willing to help and support us throughout the process of selling our house.”
“We received outstanding service from start to finish in the sale and purchase of our properties. The marketing was excellent and very professional. All legal services was exemplary and handled in a most convival manner. Communication was excellent throughout and everything was handled smoothly and efficiently. Shannon was an absolute delight to work with and ensured all was on track for the legal matters and Karen marketed our property superbly.”
“Highly recommend. Susan Shand looked after the sale of my property and was excellent. Ian Davidson, who I had originally dealt with and who acted on my behalf for the purchase many years ago too, was also super helpful. Nicola Stephen supporting was also great. Thank you all!”
“I cannot recommend Harper Macleod LLP highly enough. Our solicitor Andrea Ross was excellent in soliciting our purchase of a property in The Highlands: communicating clearly, following up any queries, chasing the seller’s solicitor for answers and overall a very professional, calm and reassuring presence. Brilliant for my wife and I who were first time buyers. “
“Thank you to Michelle McPherson of Harper Macleod who dealt with the conveyancing of our property sale. Michelle carefully explained the process of selling a house in Scotland, was always available at the end of the phone line, finished the work time sticking to the original quote.”
“Harper Macleod have been fantastic solicitors, Megan ensured a very stressful property purchase went as smooth as possible jumping over many hurdles that came our way. Thank you all!”
CONTACT US
Call us for free on 0330 159 5555 or complete our online form below to submit your enquiry or arrange a call back.