Chains

Most property sales involve a chain. If you are buying a house from someone, they are most likely buying a house from someone else. The chain continues until there is someone who is only selling a property.

Unfortunately 1 in 3 chains falls apart, often at the last minute. There are several reasons for this, maybe one party has got their finances wrong somewhere, or a building survey might reveal a major problem with a property.

There is little that can be done if someone in the chain decides not to complete the deal, but this year Seller’s Information Packs are becoming compulsory. The aim of these is to reduce the number of broken chains due to any preventable causes. Sellers will have to compile these before placing their house for sale, and this should mean that many more sales are not broken.

An good way to help reduce the chance of a broken chain is to stay in contact with your solicitor and estate agent, to ensure everything is going to plan. This will also mean that any potential problems should become apparent earlier, giving more time to sort out a solution.

It is also always good to try to be as flexible as possible. If you need to move quicker than you intended, try to make this possible as long as ready financially.

You are unlikely to find out how many people are in the chain that you are in, but remember, it is probably lower than the chain of 26 properties that a Bristol estate agent recalled being part of!