Off Topic - Fifecestershire

[gripperod]

I Just been offered a job North of the border and I know there are some Fife Trixters out there so im looking for any/all inside knowledge before I commit. e.g. what are house prices like? where is the best place to live? (I would be working near St andrews), is there anywhere to avoid? what are the schools like? My kids are 16 and 13 are they going to struggle fitting in to the scottish education system?

Any advise before I make this life changing decision gratefully accepted!

stress stress stress

[bikemad99]

I am not much help,but some of the Scottish police force are very strange people.

[Ade B]

I lived in Glasgow for 2 years after a year in Germany, my 2p (although not really what you were asking).

for the time I was there it rained a lot, and I mean a lot, think it was something to do with Glasgow's position in relation to the mountains and sea.. - but you might get better weather on the east coast. When its not raining its overcast a lot....

the days are very short in winter and very long in summer, scottish summer evenings are fantastic

the chip shops are interesting... steer clear of scotch pies

some of the scottish still don't like the english (ducks for cover) - I occassionally felt more foreign than when in Berlin, that could just be weegies though

the stony cities are brilliant, Glasgow & Edinburgh make English cities look small scale and weedy. Edinburgh must be one of the prettiest cities in Europe. I'm sure you're familiar with the countryside.

I had a great couple of years there (albeit as a student) met my wife there and made many good friends, some of them scots .

You will have to learn to strip the willow and celebrate Burns night with Haggis and neaps'n'tatties.

Thought about going back there, but the dog hates bagpipes...

Ade

[Stevie]

Gripperod,
I live about 30 miles from St. Andrews, in Kinross, so here are some of my thoughts. Kinross is not actually in Fife so there may be others here more qualified to answer.
North East Fife is the best part of Fife, most scenic, best quality of life (runs for cover!). Schools are generally very good there and house prices higher than other parts of Fife but lower than, say Edinburgh. Best place to research house prices is ESPC
http://www.espc.com/EspcPublic/Universa ... ePage.aspx
Don't forget that we have a *ahem* different house buying system in Scotland and the actual price that you pay may be 25%-35% higher than the offers-over price.
Commuting through East Fife is easy - very little traffic and the roads are reasonable by scottish standards.
A 16-year old may well struggle to fit into the scottish education system, as he/she would normally be sitting exams at that age and the curriculum is different to that in Englandborough. I would have thought that a 13yr old would be able to adapt.
St. Andrews is, of course, a University town with a high proportion of English students, and RAF Leuchars is nearby so the locals are used to funny accents.
Any specific questions, feel free to ask.

[andrew s]

Well I wont comment as I am an outsider to Fife, although I have lived here for 6 years.

Ian is the best person to speak to as he lives near St Andrews and has 2 girls who have been through the education system there.

If you do go for the job then you will have some guides as to some good roads. Let us know when you are coming up and we could meet up and try to offer some help.

Reg,

There's nothing strange about Scottish cops, well maybe the Scottish one's are a bit odd, but the Welsh ones are fine.

Andrew

[winger]

As has already been mentioned,there's a pretty strange system up there for buying house's,saw program on the box a few weeks ago,jesus what a nightmare,do you only get one bid???

[leasky]

SCOTLAND:- The last place God made before he began to make mistakes.

Gripperod, my other-half is from Wormit (about 10 mins from St.Anrews) and we are down there on a regular basis. I am about 45 mins north of St. Andrews.

I have also been thinking of moving to North Fife for many reasons; house prices, quality of life, lack of crime etc. Drop me a PM if I can be of any help as I suspect we are considering many of the same issues.

I am not in the UK at the moment but should be home in about 2 weeks or so. I will happily give you my phone numbers when I get back.

Kindest regards.

Leasky.

[Stevie]

As has already been mentioned,there's a pretty strange system up there for buying house's,saw program on the box a few weeks ago,jesus what a nightmare,do you only get one bid???

Winger, you should know by now that there is no simple answer to a simple question. To summarize:
If the house is for sale on an "offers-over" basis, and the seller has had lot's of interest, ie potential buyers formally placing notes of interest, then the seller will set a closing date. Potential buyers then place sealed bids, which won't be opened until the closing date. So in this case, yes, you have only one bid.

If the house is for sale on an "offers-over" basis, and the seller has had very little interest, then a potential buyer could stick an offer in just like in Englandborough. The seller is free to accept or reject and the buyer is free to up the bid if he wishes.

If the house is for sale on a "fixed price" basis, then the buyer can stick an offer in (can be below the price) as happens elsewhere in the UK, and have it rejected or accepted.

Tradtionally, once a bid has been accepted, this is a binding contract and gazumping or gazundering was not possible, however, in recent years it has become common practice to place an offer "subject to survey" which gives the buyer a bit more wiggle-room.

By the way, I am not an expert or a lawyer and all or any of this may be wrong.

[theseadog]

Right first things first lets put the record straight......

Chris our Scottish house buying system is so much better than the the English that's it's not even in the same universe. You make your offer if it's offers over, if it's accepted then that's it, house is yours after acceptance. Fixed price even easier. Offer the money, job done. I've done both and would not buy a house under the English system again. None of this gazumping bolloxs nonsense. You're not necessarily restricted to one offer, depends on the conditions of sale.


Ade it was the fact you were a student not the fact that you were English . . . . . .


All in all as with most places there are some arses about, but the majority of Scots will be more than welcoming. Our schooling system is pretty good, though as has been mentioned your eldest will be at the age for what ever they call what used to be O levels.

Many aspects will be better as far as quality of life goes, but at the end of the day it depends on your priorities.

Good luck with your decision . . . .


Toodle Pip

[winger]

What i didn't say the couple i saw on the box had to have a survey done first then if they got outbid it was money down the pan,is that the way it's done.

[theseadog]

What i didn't say the couple i saw on the box had to have a survey done first then if they got outbid it was money down the pan,is that the way it's done.

Yes it is, it's really the one part of the system that I don't agree with. I feel that there should be a single independant survey done which is available to all interested parties and then the buyer pays the costs at purchase.

It can work out pretty damn dear if you don't get 2 or 3 properties

[Stevie]

What i didn't say the couple i saw on the box had to have a survey done first then if they got outbid it was money down the pan,is that the way it's done.

It's not that cut and dried. It certainly used to be the case that no one would put a bid in without a survey, but as I said, most people now make their bid "subject to survey". Of course, the seller is under no obligation to accept a "subject to survey" bid and if there are a lot of bidders, you may lose out.

[theseadog]

What i didn't say the couple i saw on the box had to have a survey done first then if they got outbid it was money down the pan,is that the way it's done.

It's not that cut and dried. It certainly used to be the case that no one would put a bid in without a survey, but as I said, most people now make their bid "subject to survey". Of course, the seller is under no obligation to accept a "subject to survey" bid and if there are a lot of bidders, you may lose out.

You'll find that most sellers give very low priority to bids under those conditions, generaly only use them as a fall back unless the offer is exceptionally good and they have no concerns over the survey results.

Brother is a solicitor and specialises in conveyancing and property, has done for 30 years and from what he tells me that type of offer is way down the food chain unless as mentioned it's a good offer ( and they've nothing to hide ) or the seller is desperate.

[Blackal]

If I can confirm that an offer "subject to survey" is not an offer and is often refered to as a "note of comfort". Sellers in a buoyant market will pay no regard to this type of offer.

If your offer is accepted, it is not a binding contract at that point. Not until the missives are signed - does it become binding - at which stage, the party that pulls out is liable for the others' expenses (you don't want to think about that!)

If you register a note of interest in a house, then the seller cannot sell it without setting a closing date for acceptance of all offers. This needs ellaborating on............... There isn't a solicitor worthy of the name that would be a party to his client doing this. However, the client could take the house off the market and sell to a previously-agreed purchaser (and would possibly use a different solicitor to do so) but usually, unless an individual offer to purchase is so high- there is no point in a seller restricting offers.

When you look around a house, and you decide the kitchen/bathroom or whatever will require a complete revamp within the next year or so, it could be tempting to factor that into the offer that you make. If there is a lot of interest in the house, then allowing for this could just lose you the house. The reason is that some of the other interested parties may not see the revamp as necessary and therefor do not reduce their offer accordingly.

If it is a fairly new house (especially one with a valid NHBC guarantee), then it is probably safe to get only a "Homebuyers" survey, which is basically protection for the lender - this is especially true in a buoyant market, where any defects subsequently found can at least be covered by the rise in equity in the house.

The Scottish system is good if you are already in it, but very daunting if you are selling in England first. On the plus side..........missives are signed early in the procedings, therefore you will not get to the stage (as in England) where you find out close to completion date - that the chain has collapsed............. That cannot happen without severe penalties against the defaulter.

Fife is okay, apart from the "Fifers" (who can be a bit strange, y'ken ) and think carefully about that location if you require to commute to Edinburgh each day - the Forth road bridge is a nightmare. I guess the trains are hectic too)


Phew All of that without using the word "property" I'm sure that term adds 10% to the price of a "house"

Al

[winger]

Have to say the program i saw confirmed what Paul said, the couple had chased no end of houses and it had cost e'm a fortune,you have your survey,make your bid,if it's no good it's money down the pan,which i found interesting to say the least,struck me a good way to keep the the prices up haveing to put a big bid in to make sure you got it.