In short: a first hands-off buy-to-let in Glasgow or Edinburgh comes down to seven steps: a clear brief, the cash worked out properly, a search, the Scottish offer process, the works, the landlord paperwork and the letting. You own the property in your own name. We do the finding, the checking and the running around, and with Gauci Magri & Partners the search is guaranteed: 3 ready-to-buy properties within 3 months of your £500 deposit, or the deposit back. This guide walks through each step, what it costs and what Scotland does differently.
The 30-second version
- You buy in your own name, on your own title. It is not a fund.
- Purchase tax on a £120,000 flat, if you already own a home anywhere: £9,600, all of it the 8% supplement.
- A £500 deposit starts our search, payable over 3 months, and counts towards our fee.
- An offer in Scotland binds both sides once the solicitors conclude the missives.
- Before you let, you register as a landlord with the council and the property meets the Repairing Standard.
Who is this guide for?
It is written for someone buying their first rental property, who wants to own it but not run it. Some of our clients live in Glasgow or Edinburgh. Many live in Malta or elsewhere in Europe and have never seen the street before they buy. Both get the same process. If you already own rental property in Scotland, the steps will be familiar, and our packages and fees page may be all you need.
Step 1: write down what the property has to do for you
Everything starts with the brief. We need your budget, how you will pay (cash or a mortgage, and whether a lender has already looked at you), which city, and what the property is for. A flat that pays its own way from month one and a flat bought mostly for the long term are different searches. We start once we have the full brief, because a vague brief produces a long list of the wrong properties.
Step 2: work out the cash you really need
The deposit is only part of it. Most first-time investors are surprised by the purchase tax, and in Scotland the surprise has a name: the Additional Dwelling Supplement. It is 8% of the whole price on purchases of £40,000 or more, and you pay it if you will own two or more homes anywhere in the world after the purchase. So an investor who owns the house they live in, in Malta or Manchester, pays it.
- On a £120,000 flat there is no Land and Buildings Transaction Tax to pay, but the supplement is £9,600.
- On a £200,000 property the tax is £1,100 and the supplement £16,000, so £17,100 in all.
Add the mortgage deposit, your solicitor's fees, the lender's and broker's fees, our sourcing fee and any works the property needs before it can be let. Our buy-to-let deposit and yield calculator adds these up for you and shows gross yield, net yield and monthly cash flow on the figures you enter. For a guide to what different budgets can buy, see the Scottish deposit scenarios.
Step 3: the search, and what our guarantee covers
A £500 deposit per property starts the search. You can pay it in one go or in three monthly payments over the three months. Within 3 months we put forward 3 ready-to-buy properties, each with our figures: the price, the purchase tax, the works, the likely rent and what is left after costs. If we do not, we refund the deposit. If none of the 3 is right for you, we add 2 more.
Most of what we look at never reaches you. A tenement flat can look cheap on a portal and still be a poor buy once the roof and the close repairs are counted. The gross yields we screen for are typically in the region of 5% to 12%, depending on the deal. Those are targets we test against, not promises.
Step 4: the offer and the missives
Buying in Scotland is different from England, and the difference matters most if you are abroad. The seller provides a Home Report, with a survey and valuation, an energy report and a questionnaire. Your solicitor notes your interest, then submits the offer as a formal letter, sometimes by a closing date if several buyers are interested. The two solicitors then exchange letters, the missives, until the terms are settled. Once the missives are concluded, the contract binds both sides. On the date of entry the price is paid and the property is yours.
Because the offer is a formal letter, the checking has to be done before it goes in. That is where most of our time goes. When the seller accepts your offer, the rest of our sourcing fee is due, and the £500 deposit counts towards it. Your solicitor sends the tax return and the payment to Revenue Scotland within 30 days of the effective date, which is normally the date of entry.
Step 5: get it ready to let
A rented home in Scotland must meet the Repairing Standard. Since March 2024 that has included a fixed heating system, residual current devices on the electrics and safe kitchen space. If the property needs work, our refurbishment management covers it: you see the contractor quotes and the finish date before anything starts, and nothing extra is done without your say-so. The fee is 10% of the works, with a minimum of £1,500.
Step 6: the landlord paperwork
Three rules catch first-time landlords in Scotland.
- Landlord registration. You register with the council before you let, and renew every three years. The fee is £85 for the landlord and £20 for each property, according to Landlord Registration Scotland. Letting without registration is a criminal offence.
- The tenancy. Since 1 December 2017 most new private lets in Scotland have had to be private residential tenancies, according to mygov.scot. The tenancy type is not the English assured shorthold tenancy, and the rules for ending it are different.
- The tenant's deposit. It can be up to two months' rent and must be protected in one of three approved schemes, as set out on mygov.scot.
If you live outside the UK, rent paid to you falls under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme, and if you buy through a company registered abroad, that company must be on the Register of Overseas Entities first.
Step 7: let it, and stay hands-off
We introduce you to a letting agent on the Scottish Letting Agent Register. The agent finds the tenant, protects the tenant's deposit in an approved scheme and manages the property under its own terms and fees. On our Hands-off package we deal with that agent for you, follow the rent, the repairs and the tenancy, and report back, so you have one point of contact.
What we charge for each step
| Step | Our fee |
|---|---|
| Search deposit | £500 per property, refundable under the guarantee, counts towards the sourcing fee |
| Sourcing | £2,500 per property for a price of £50,001 to £150,000, then in bands |
| Refurbishment management | 10% of the works, minimum £1,500 |
| Letting oversight | £50 a month per rented property, from when it is let |
| First-time clients | 10% off the first sourcing fee on Source, or a 10% credit towards works or oversight on the other packages, plus 3 months of oversight free |
All our fees are plus VAT where applicable. The full bands and the three packages are on our packages and fees page. Purchase tax, your solicitor, the lender, the works themselves, the letting agent and insurance are paid separately, to the people concerned.
Common questions
How long does it take to buy a first buy-to-let in Glasgow or Edinburgh?
The search is time-boxed. We put forward 3 ready-to-buy properties within 3 months of your £500 deposit, or we refund it. After you choose one, the time to the keys depends on the seller and the two solicitors, from the offer to the concluded missives and the date of entry.
How much cash do I need for a first Scottish buy-to-let?
With a mortgage, plan for the deposit (often 25% of the price), the purchase tax, your solicitor's and lender's fees, our sourcing fee and any works. On a £120,000 flat where the 8% supplement applies, the purchase tax alone is £9,600. Our calculator adds it all up on your own figures.
Do I need to live in the UK to buy a buy-to-let in Scotland?
No. Many of our clients live in Malta or elsewhere in Europe, and most never need to travel. Scotland has no extra purchase tax for buyers who live abroad, but the 8% Additional Dwelling Supplement applies if you own a home anywhere. Getting a mortgage is usually the hardest part from abroad.
What does “hands-off” mean in practice?
We source the property, manage any refurbishment, and introduce a letting agent on the Scottish Letting Agent Register who lets and manages it. On our Hands-off package we also deal with that agent for you, so you have one point of contact, for £50 a month per rented property.
Do you guarantee a yield?
No. The gross yields we screen for are typically in the region of 5% to 12%, depending on the deal. They are targets we test against, not promises. What we do guarantee is the search: 3 ready-to-buy properties within 3 months of your deposit, or the deposit back.
Tell us your budget and what the property has to do for you. We will tell you honestly whether Glasgow or Edinburgh fits, and what the first three months would look like.
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