- For foreign buyers
- Built with local realtors
- Updated this quarter
Here's 99% of what you need to know before buying in Edinburgh.
The 12 documents we wish we had before buying in Edinburgh. What each area costs, how far over the asking price places actually close, what they earn now the short let rules have bitten. Plus the things nobody writes down: what a shared roof will cost you, and when an offer becomes binding.
The 12 documents to make a good real estate investment in Edinburgh in 2026
Scots law is not English law: the asking price is a starting line, the survey comes with the property rather than with the buyer, and the roof above the flat belongs to eight owners at once. These documents show you what is actually earned and paid. They are put together with agents, solicitors and owners we work with in the city.
Questions
Do you list your sources?
Yes, on every table. Each one says where the figures came from and the month they were collected: Registers of Scotland sold prices, published tax and conveyancing rates, listing and closing date histories we track ourselves, factoring and common repair accounts shared with us by owners, and what the agents we work with in each area are seeing week to week. Anything that is an estimate rather than a recorded number is labelled as one.
Is buying in Scotland really different from England?
Completely, and that is the main reason this pack exists. There is no leasehold, the seller provides the survey, offers go in blind by a closing date, and the contract becomes binding at a different moment. Anything you have read about buying in England will mislead you here.
Can I let a flat out on a nightly basis?
Almost certainly not, unless the flat already has permission. The whole city is a short term let control area, so letting an entire property out needs a change of use as well as a licence, and most applications do not succeed. Where it is still possible is document 01.
What is a Home Report and can I trust it?
It is a survey, a valuation and an energy report that the seller must provide before listing, and it is genuinely useful. It was also commissioned by the seller, and its valuation is the number everybody bids against. How to read it, and what it does not cover, is document 06.
What is this about the roof belonging to everybody?
In a tenement the roof, the stair, the chimney and often the back green are shared, and your share of any repair is set by the title deeds rather than by what you use. A roof job can run to five figures per flat, which is why document 03 tells you what to read before you offer.
Can a foreigner actually buy property here?
Yes, with no restriction on ownership and no permit. What differs is the tax: an additional dwelling carries a surcharge on top of the standard rate, charged on the whole price rather than on part of it. Document 08 works that through on real purchase prices.
How long are the documents?
One to four pages each. They are tables and checklists rather than reports, so any one of them takes about ten minutes to read.
Which areas do you cover?
Eighteen areas: New Town, Old Town, Stockbridge, Dean Village, Comely Bank, Bruntsfield, Marchmont, The Grange, Morningside, Newington, Tollcross, Fountainbridge, Leith and The Shore, Trinity, Portobello, Corstorphine, Murrayfield and Duddingston. If you need somewhere or a specific building that is not in there, write to us and we will put it together for you at no extra cost.
I have a question about my own situation.
Ask us. If the answer is in the research we already have, we will send it. If it needs a call to someone in that area or a look at a specific building, we will do that too and come back to you, at no extra cost.
Is $99 a lot for a set of documents?
You are about to spend several hundred thousand pounds on a property, under a legal system that is not the one you have read about. Bidding blind and overpaying, a roof bill you did not see coming, a licence you will never get: there are plenty of ways this gets expensive.
What format are they in, and when do I get them?
PDF, so you can read them on your phone, tablet or computer. The download link appears on screen straight after payment and a copy arrives by email.
How often are they updated?
Every quarter. Our contacts in Edinburgh re-check the numbers before each release, so the version you download today is the one updated this quarter.
I have another question.
Ask us on the contact page and we will get back to you.
Three packs
The first pack has 4 documents, the second has 6, and the third has all 12 of our Edinburgh research.
All the data and information in these documents was checked this year with agents, solicitors and owners working in Edinburgh.