• Fixed Price Offers

  The use of fixed price offers should be considered carefully.

• Gazumping, Gazundering and Closing Dates

  This guidance applies equally to solicitors acting as estate agents as well as solicitors acting in the conveyancing.

• Avoidance of Delay in Concluding Missives

  It is common for Missives to be in an unconcluded state until shortly before or even at the date of entry.

• Home Reports

  Liability for Information Contained in Property Questionnaire Solicitors should make clear to selling clients completing such questionnaires that responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of those questionnaires rests with the client.

• Contaminated Land and Environmental Reports

  The Society's Professional Practice and Property Law Committee’s view is that if a solicitor does not feel qualified to comment on environmental matters.

• Letters of Obligation and Advance Notices

  The Conveyancing Committee is of the view that conveyancing transactions should be settled with a letter of obligation being granted by the solicitor personally.

• Postal Settlement

  Where postal settlement is envisaged, the seller's Solicitor should send the executed deed and deliverable title deeds

• Cheques and Electronic Funds to be Held as Undelivered

  Where postal settlement of a transaction is envisaged, good practice is to agree in advance the arrangements for the sending of and intromission with funds and other settlement items.

• Lender Remitting Funds Direct to Seller’s Agent

  The Property Law Committee is aware that lenders occasionally insist on this.

• Retention of Funds

  Where a sum of money is to be retained at settlement of a conveyancing transaction, the conditions upon which it is retained should be set out in writing at settlement.

• Land Registration Etc. (Scotland) Act 2012

  Solicitors should be aware that s.111 of The Land Registration etc. (Scotland) Act 2012 ("2012 Act") introduces a statutory duty of care to the Keeper.

• Discharges of Standard Securities

  Solicitors frequently experience difficulty in obtaining Discharges from lenders, particularly those based in England, where Discharges are not required in the same format and the registers can be cleared more easily.

• Scottish Standard Clauses

  Aberdeen: Standard Missive Aberdeen Deed of Declaration 2007

• Scottish New Build Standard Clauses

  The Scottish New Build Standard Clauses (Edition 1)

• Notices of Improvement and Repair Grants

  This Advice Note was drafted by the Property Law Committee in consultation with the Scottish Government and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (“the CML”)

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