News & Legal Updates

The Scottish residential property market is still booming and, whilst the recent announcement by the Scottish Government about the closure of the Help to Buy scheme may have been disappointing news for some, there remains various other schemes available to those still keen to buy residential property.  There follows some information on a few such … Continue reading "Help Is Still At Hand For Those Looking To Buy Residential Property In Scotland"

On Monday 27th April 2020, The Registers of Scotland (the “Registers”) opened up their digital submission service and it has since then been operating very successfully operating. The Registers and the Law Society of Scotland worked extremely hard to put the digital submission service in place and to ensure it was fully operational in a … Continue reading "Re-opening of the Land Register and Register of Sasines – The Best of Both Worlds"

Guidance on how private landlords should deal with rent and terminating tenancies Since the start of the pandemic the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and Coronavirus (Scotland) (No. 2) Act 2020 have been passed by the Scottish Government. The new Acts were introduced to provide security to various sectors during the pandemic. The new legislation makes … Continue reading "Eviction of Tenants during the Coronavirus Pandemic"

I think it is fair to say that the year 2020 will not be one that is remembered for the right reasons. From lockdowns to social distancing, 2020 was a year in which COVID-19 dominated the news headlines and changed the way we all live and work. The pandemic has affected all areas of life, … Continue reading "The Race For Rural Relocation"

In March 2020, when the country went into lockdown, we all thought it would be a temporary measure lasting a few short weeks, and the country would be up and running in no time at all. Yet, here we are, almost a year on and we still find ourselves in a lockdown situation. The effects … Continue reading "Will the flurry in the property market continue in 2021?"

For many people around retirement age equity release mortgages are an attractive option as they offer either a lump sum or a regular income which could be used in a number of ways.  For example: To supplement a pension To pass on money to family members To go on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday or trip To … Continue reading "Equity release mortgages (Dec. 2020)"

As part of the planning process neighbours living near a property being developed will receive official notification of the application for planning permission which has been received by the local authority.  You may need to go online or visit the Council’s offices to get further details of the proposed development.  There are strict time limits … Continue reading "Can I object to a neighbour’s proposed extension?"

I am sure everyone will agree that the prospect of moving house is one that is synonymous with stress, which is true more so now than ever. During these unprecedented times a lot of people have decided to take the plunge and move. This is an extremely challenging time for both solicitors and clients and … Continue reading "Moving home during a pandemic"

I recently wrote a blog explaining the differences between buying a new build property and buying a second hand property.  Following on from that here are some ways in which buying a property at auction also differs from buying a second hand property. Deposits are rare in Scotland but at auction the purchaser will immediately … Continue reading "Buying at auction September 2020"

As it is likely that due to the recent lockdown restrictions, more of us have spent time in our gardens or indeed, had the opportunity to re-paint the perimeter fence, it might be that there has been increased thought given to the garden boundary extent which encloses our properties. There has perhaps been scope for … Continue reading "Boundary discrepancies"