Scotland doesn’t buy and sell property the way England does, and most of the confusion buyers and sellers run into comes down to four words nobody explains properly: missives, note of interest, closing date, ADS. Here’s what each one actually means and where the money goes. If you’re buying to flip rather than to live in, the strategy side of this is covered separately in Buying Property to Flip in Scotland. This piece is the reference underneath it.
What a “note of interest” actually commits you to
Nothing, financially. A note of interest is your solicitor telling the seller’s solicitor that you’re a genuine prospective buyer. It doesn’t bind you to anything and it doesn’t bind the seller to sell to you. Its only real function is to trigger a closing date once enough notes of interest have come in — the seller’s solicitor uses the volume of interest to decide whether it’s worth setting one.
If you view a property and want to be taken seriously, get your solicitor to submit a note of interest early. Turning up after a closing date has already been set is too late.
How a closing date works
Once a seller’s solicitor has enough notes of interest, they set a closing date: a specific day and time by which all interested buyers must submit their best and final offer. This is sealed-bid, not an open auction — you don’t see other offers, and you get one shot. There’s no second round.
Practical points that get missed:
Offers are submitted in Scottish legal form (through a solicitor), not verbally or by email direct to the seller.
A closing date isn’t a guarantee the seller accepts the highest offer — conditions, entry date flexibility and proof of funding all factor in.
Sellers can accept an offer before a closing date if it’s strong enough, or decide not to accept any offer at all.
Missives: when the deal actually becomes binding
Missives are the exchange of formal letters between the buyer’s and seller’s solicitors that negotiate and then lock in the terms — price, entry date, what’s included, any conditions. This isn’t one document signed in a room; it’s a back-and-forth of letters, sometimes over days, sometimes weeks.
The contract becomes legally binding when the final letter in that chain is accepted — known as conclusion of missives. Before that point, either side can generally walk away. After it, neither can, without financial consequences. This is the single biggest thing people misunderstand about buying in Scotland: your offer being accepted is not the same as the deal being done. It’s only done once missives conclude. In current practice that’s often days, sometimes hours, before entry — not weeks out, the way it used to run.
ADS: the extra tax on a second property
The Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is a surcharge on top of standard LBTT, and it applies if you already own a residential property when you complete on another one — most commonly buy-to-let purchases, second homes, or a purchase completing before your existing home sells.
ADS increased to 8% for transactions entered into on or after 5 December 2024, up from 6% previously. The Scottish Budget for 2026 to 2027 confirmed LBTT rates and bands, including ADS, stay at their current levels — so 8% is the number to plan against for now.
ADS is charged on the full purchase price, not just the portion above a threshold, which is why it catches investors out on smaller deals more than the headline rate suggests.
LBTT: the underlying tax on every purchase
Land and Buildings Transaction Tax is Scotland’s equivalent of stamp duty, and it applies in bands on the portion of the price within each band, not a flat rate on the whole purchase:
First-time buyers get relief that raises the nil-rate threshold to £175,000, worth up to £600. A return has to go to Revenue Scotland on any purchase over £40,000, even where no tax is due. ADS, where it applies, sits on top of these bands, not instead of them.
Where a cash sale changes the picture
Everything above assumes the open-market route: valuation, marketing, notes of interest, a closing date, competing bids. It’s the right route for most sellers. It’s not the only one. A direct sale skips the closing date and the uncertainty that comes with it — no waiting to see if enough interest materialises, no sealed-bid guesswork, and a firm date instead of a hoped-for one. Worth knowing which situation you’re actually in before you commit to either process.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. LBTT and ADS figures change with each Scottish Budget — confirm your position with your solicitor before relying on any number here.
Sources
Revenue Scotland — Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 changes to LBTT (ADS rate)
Revenue Scotland — Residential property LBTT bands
Thorntons Solicitors — Missives: what are they and when are they binding
Law Society of Scotland — Revised guideline: closing dates/notes of interest
Before you offer, the evidence to read first is the Home Report — The Scottish Home Report, Explained Properly: What Every Page Actually Tells You breaks down the condition ratings, EPC and cash-gap mechanics.
Want the numbers before you commit to a route — open market or direct sale? Get The Property Edge, Stewart’s weekly read on what’s actually moving in the Scottish market.
By Stewart Thomson,
Stewart Thomson Property
