Missives, noun – a letter, especially a long or official one!
If you are buying a house or land in Scotland the offer must be in writing. The offer will include details of the purchaser, the purchase price, the date of entry, any special condition of the purchase – for instance if the offer is subject to obtaining a satisfactory survey or valuation report or a mortgage offer.
In the past each firm of solicitors had their own style Schedule of Conditions which they would incorporate into the offer as additional conditions. No two offers were the same and the number of conditions increased year by year. We now have the Scottish Standard Clauses which have been adopted by solicitors in most parts of Scotland when purchasing a house and it is these Standard Clauses that will be incorporated into the offer.
The solicitor acting for the seller will discuss the offer with his client and will then issue what is called a “qualified acceptance” , a formal letter in which certain conditions of the original offer may be rejected or qualified. If, after discussion with the purchaser, it is decided that the qualifications may be accepted, the purchaser’s solicitor will issue a further formal letter accepting these qualifications at which point there is a binding contract and missives are concluded. If however the qualifications cannot be accepted another formal letter will be issued which will contain further qualifications.
The offer, any qualified acceptances and the final letter of acceptance are together the “missives”.
Contrary to what many people believe, there is no binding or enforceable contract until missives are concluded. Up until that point either the purchaser or seller can simply walk away without penalty.