Edinburgh · Scotland · UK-wide
Buying your first home in Edinburgh works differently from the rest of the UK. You will need a mortgage agreement in principle before you can offer, offers are usually made over a fixed asking price, the seller supplies a Home Report rather than you commissioning a survey, and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax replaces stamp duty — with first-time buyer relief lifting the nil-rate band to £175,000. Prime Mortgages is an FCA-regulated broker in Edinburgh that guides first-time buyers through all of it, from working out a realistic budget to getting the keys.
Most lenders will offer between 4 and 4.5 times your gross annual income, and a handful will stretch to 5 or 5.5 times for professionals or higher earners who meet strict criteria. What actually determines your figure is affordability: your income after tax, your committed outgoings, any credit commitments, childcare costs, and the stress rate the lender applies to check you could still pay if rates rose.
Two applicants with identical salaries can be offered very different amounts by different lenders. That gap is the whole reason to use a broker rather than walking into one bank.
The Scottish system moves faster and binds earlier than the English one. Once missives are concluded you are legally committed — there is no equivalent of the English exchange-and-gazump window.
Estate agents in Edinburgh will rarely take you seriously without one, and closing dates are often set within days of a property going live. We arrange this before you start viewing.
The seller pays for the Home Report, which contains a single survey, an energy report and a property questionnaire. The valuation in it is what your lender will usually work from.
Almost all Edinburgh properties are marketed at 'offers over'. In competitive areas it is common to need meaningfully more than the asking price, and your deposit has to cover the gap between the price you pay and the Home Report valuation.
Once your offer is accepted we submit the full application, package your documents and manage the lender to offer.
Your solicitor concludes missives, then funds are drawn down on the date of entry and the keys are yours.
Scotland does not charge stamp duty. Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) applies instead, and it is charged in bands on the portion of the price that falls into each band.
First-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate threshold from £145,000 to £175,000, worth up to £600. Above £175,000 a first-time buyer pays the standard rates on the balance. Rates are set by the Scottish Government and can change at a Scottish Budget — always check the current bands at revenue.scot before you budget.
Solicitor and registration figures are typical market ranges to help you budget, not quotes. Your solicitor will give you an exact figure.
| Cost | Typical range | When it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | 5%–15% of the price | At settlement |
| LBTT | £0 upwards, relief to £175,000 | At settlement |
| Solicitor's fees | £900–£1,800 plus VAT | At settlement |
| Registers of Scotland fees | Scales with price | At settlement |
| Our advice fee | £495 standard, or 1%–2% on complex work | On production of your formal mortgage offer |
| Lender product fee | £0–£1,499 | Usually added to the loan or paid up front |
No fee for the initial conversation, and no obligation. We usually reply the same working day.
Common questions
Five per cent of the purchase price is enough for many lenders, so around £11,000 on a £220,000 flat. In practice most Edinburgh buyers need more, because properties are marketed at 'offers over' and lenders will only lend against the Home Report valuation — any amount you pay above that valuation has to come from your own funds on top of the deposit.
Effectively, yes. Edinburgh estate agents frequently set a closing date within days of listing, and offers are made through a solicitor. Without an agreement in principle you will not be in a position to offer in time. It usually takes 24 to 48 hours to arrange and does not commit you to that lender.
The seller provides the Home Report, which includes a single survey with a valuation, an energy report and a property questionnaire. Your lender will normally accept the valuation in it, so a separate survey is not usually required. If the Home Report flags significant repairs you may still want your own specialist inspection.
Yes. Most lenders want two years of accounts or SA302s and will average or use the most recent year, but several will consider one full year of trading. Being self-employed does not push you into a specialist rate on its own — it just narrows which lenders will look at you, which is exactly what a broker is for.
Scotland charges LBTT rather than stamp duty. First-time buyer relief raises the nil-rate band from £145,000 to £175,000, saving up to £600. It applies where every buyer is a first-time buyer and the property will be your only or main residence.
From accepted offer to keys is commonly six to ten weeks. The mortgage offer itself often arrives within two to three weeks once a full application is submitted with complete documents; the rest of the time is your solicitor concluding missives and agreeing a date of entry.
A twenty-minute conversation will tell you what you can realistically borrow, what it will cost and whether it is worth doing. It is free, and we will tell you honestly if the answer is no.