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We’ve got a long history of lending on properties in Scotland. Here’s some of the important information that you’ll need to know if you’re doing a mortgage for your customers in Scotland whether they are buying for the first time, remortgaging or buying a Buy to Let property.
Home reports and valuations
Definition: A Home Report is a valuation for a Scottish residential property and is instructed by the seller rather than the buyer of the property. Its split into 3 parts:
(1) a single survey and valuation for mortgage purposes,
(2) a property questionnaire for the seller and
(3) an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
They’re valid for 3 months, at which point they can then be refreshed for a further 3 months. The seller/estate agent would need to arrange and pay for this.
If the home report is not available or the customer wants a standard valuation instructing as part of the mortgage application process, please select “no” to the question “Does the client have a Home Report less than 90 days old?”
We’ll lend on properties on the islands around the Scottish coast, subject to valuer’s comments. Where a standard valuation is required there may be delays due to travel arrangements to the islands. There are no additional fees for this.
Transcripts
Home Reports in Scotland contain a valuation for mortgage purposes. We ask our valuation partners to transpose this onto our own NatWest valuation template subject to the original valuer being on our panel.
A transcript is only done for the purchase of an existing property and can't be used for new builds, private sales, remortgages, Buy to Lets or properties over £1 million.
For Purchase cases only.
Pricing structure for house purchase in Scotland
A fixed price property is listed for a set price.
Offers around/offers over: A property can be marketed where a seller would like offers over a certain value. This means the customer may pay a higher purchase price than what the property has been valued at on the Home Report. This is common when in a competitive market or the property is in a desirable area. Where the agreed purchase price and the valuation figure differs, both can be keyed on the Full Mortgage Application.
- Where the client chooses to pay more for the property than the indicated value they will need to fund this themselves as our LTV is based on the valuation. See below example:
- You will need to evidence how the client will fund the difference between the Mortgage and the Purchase Price as the underwriter needs to evidence the full deposit.
Tenure
Most properties in Scotland are Absolute Ownership. These are acceptable and subject to our standard Lending Limits - Loan amounts and LTVs.
Any associated Factor fee, Resident’s Association fee or maintenance fees should be factored into affordability.
Missives, date of entry and completion
Missives: Legally binding contract to buy.
Date of Entry (DOE) & Completion: When the buyer takes ownership.
LIFT
LIFT stands for - Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (formally known as Homestake).
If you'd like further guidance on our other policies, please visit our lending criteria page.