What to check before making an offer
Before viewing seriously, set a sustainable monthly payment and a maximum cash budget. Keep separate figures for the deposit, any difference between the price and a lender’s valuation, purchase costs and a reserve. Read the Home Report and view the property. Appoint a Scottish solicitor before asking for an offer; they can explain notes of interest, closing dates, qualifications and missives. A lender’s valuation is not a substitute for your own questions or legal advice. Shared repairs, factoring and maintenance deserve particular attention in Edinburgh flats.
1. Decide what kind of home fits you
Flat or house: compare the property, not a stereotype
A flat may mean shared areas, a factor or owners’ association, common insurance and decisions about repairs. A house may reduce some shared-building decisions but can leave more external fabric, roof, boundaries and maintenance with the owner. Neither is automatically cheaper, easier or better: compare the actual title, building condition, responsibilities and running costs.
For a flat, ask for the factoring arrangements, current charges and any arrears or disputes disclosed by the seller. Ask whether common repairs are planned, how decisions are made and how the cost is allocated. For a house, investigate boundaries, access, roof, damp, alterations, drains and any shared access or maintenance agreement. Your solicitor should confirm what the title and documents say.
Make the decision personal
Write down non-negotiables (space, accessibility, outdoor area, tenure and maximum journey) and preferences separately. Visit at times that matter to you. Do not treat a neighbourhood label, a school assumption or a transport impression as evidence: check the exact address and current official information. A comparison with nearby towns is a decision about your circumstances, not a claim that one location is universally better.
2. Build a valuation-aware cash budget
An agreement in principle can help frame a search, but it is not a mortgage offer, valuation or guarantee. Budget for the monthly payment under a range of plausible rates and for income, debt or household-cost changes. Keep cash aside for:
- deposit and any amount the mortgage does not fund;
- a possible difference between the offer and the lender’s valuation;
- solicitor, registration, lender, valuation, moving and other purchase costs;
- LBTT where applicable, checked against current Revenue Scotland guidance; and
- a post-completion reserve, repairs, insurance, utilities and ongoing maintenance.
There is no universal deposit, safe offer premium or Edinburgh average that can decide your budget. A market statistic is not a valuation of the specific home; Registers of Scotland statistics must be read with their published coverage, time period and methodology. This guide therefore makes no current price, premium, rate or transport claim.
For detail, use mortgage deposits in scotland and the costs of buying a home in scotland, rather than duplicating the Scotland cost guide. For affordability, ask for regulated advice based on your circumstances.
3. Read the Home Report and check the property
The seller’s Home Report includes the single survey and valuation, property questionnaire and energy report. Read its condition findings, urgent recommendations, alterations, title-related questions and exclusions. It is not a warranty and a lender’s valuation is not a full inspection for your purposes. Ask your solicitor what needs legal investigation and obtain specialist or additional inspection advice where appropriate.
At viewings, record:
- damp, cracks, windows, roof and visible communal fabric;
- heating, electrics, water, insulation and alterations;
- boundaries, access, parking, storage and bin arrangements;
- for flats, factor, common insurance, planned works, repair history and apportionment; and
- what the property questionnaire says, what it does not answer and what your solicitor should verify.
For Edinburgh shared repairs, read Edinburgh Council: shared repairs beside the property-specific documents. It explains the local shared-repair context; it does not replace title, factor or solicitor advice.
4. Prepare with your solicitor before making an offer
Choose a Scottish solicitor early and ask about fees, scope, conflicts, source-of-funds checks, title review, Home Report questions, offer wording, missives and settlement. The solicitor can explain whether there are notes of interest, whether a closing date has been set, the deadline, date of entry and any qualifications. A note of interest is not an offer or a guarantee of a bid opportunity.
Read mygov.scot: Scottish buying process, mygov.scot: Home Reports and mygov.scot: making an offer beside the relevant statements. In Scotland, an offer is sent by the buyer’s solicitor. Ask that solicitor what the offer and subsequent missives mean for this property; do not rely on a generic percentage or an agent’s informal “sale agreed” wording.
5. Local due diligence without unsupported assumptions
Check the exact address and building rather than relying on a district reputation. Ask the seller’s agent and solicitor about:
- planned or outstanding common repairs, factoring and insurance;
- title burdens, access, parking, alterations and shared areas;
- flood, ground, environmental or other property-specific risks where relevant;
- licensing, restrictions or permissions relevant to your intended use; and
- council, utility and other official records that your solicitor recommends.
If you compare prices or trends, use the Registers of Scotland: house-price statistics methodology, geography, coverage and release date. Do not turn an aggregate into a prediction for one address. No Edinburgh average price, offers-over percentage, school claim or transport claim is made here.
6. Practical checklist
- I have a sustainable monthly budget, maximum cash commitment and reserve.
- I have separated deposit, valuation gap, purchase costs, tax and repairs.
- My deposit and any gift have an evidenceable source of funds.
- I understand that an AIP is not final mortgage approval.
- I have read the Home Report and recorded questions for my solicitor.
- I have compared flat/house responsibilities for this property, not in general.
- I have checked factor, common repair, insurance and maintenance information.
- A Scottish solicitor has explained notes of interest, offer, closing date and qualifications.
- I know what further inspection or specialist advice is needed.
- I have checked the exact address and relevant official records.
- I will not treat a headline statistic or generic offers-over percentage as my offer instruction.
- I know what remains outstanding before missives and settlement.
Related guidance
For a broader journey, see buying your first home in scotland, home reports, valuations and offers in scotland, buying an edinburgh flat: factoring and maintenance, first-time-buyer mortgage advice and mortgage advice in Edinburgh.