Scotland's missives based house-buying system will protect the property market from the woes affecting the rest of the UK, according to a group of Edinburgh based solicitors. The Scottish contract process based on "Missives" is being singled out as the reason why the Scottish housing market remains more robust that it is south of the border. 

Steve Spence, Senior Partner with Neilsons Solicitors, said it was important to stress that the Scottish and English markets are two separate entities and that fundamental  principles affecting one don't apply to the other.  He said: "During the last property slump in 1989-1993, prices went through the floor in England but in Scotland they merely plateaued - staying the same and even in some cases showing a slight increase.  The reason for this is the Missive system which underpins Scottish property transactions.

"In Scotland, house-buying is governed by individual contracts which are not directly linked to any other transactions.  It means that in Scotland we have individual transactions that are completely insulated from any other transaction. If one sale breaks down, only that one transaction is affected.

"In England, the system is completely different.  Transactions are inter-dependant and long ‘property chains' can develop often as much as 10 or 12 properties long. Only when each and every party in the chain is ready to go does the chain of transactions progress. So if one buyer's mortgage fails to materialise, it is possible for 10 or 12 transactions to fall flat on their faces overnight. 

"The best analogy is that of a string of pearls. If the pearls are strung on one string and the string breaks, all the pearls fall off. If the pearl are strung up individually, only one will fall."

Pointing to recent news showing that the Scottish property market is more robust than elsewhere in the UK, Steve Spence attributed this to the Scottish legal system.  He said: "This is because we have a different legal system - our transactions are insulated from each other; our contracts are set up unconditionally at a much earlier stage and we don't have the "subject to contract " chains which develop in England".