What Is A Property Chain?

A Property chain is when there is a sequence (a chain) of houses being purchases or sold, that depend on each other. For example, you want to buy your first home, the person selling that home needs to also buy their next home, the person they are buying from also needs to buy their next home etc. Chains can sometimes be complicated especially when trying to negotaite completion dates as all of the properties need to complete on the same day, so the day that is perfect for you, may not be perfect for them and so on.

Can a chain break?

Yes a property chain can break at any point other than after exchange has taken place as this is legally binding. A chain may break if someone pulls out of purchasing or selling a property in the chain or a mortgage falls through etc. This may just mean that your completion is delayed until the other sides can catch up however sometimes this may result in the rest of the chain collapsing as other buyers may decide to not proceed due to the delay that will be caused.

What is a chain free purchase?

You can buy a home chain free if the seller is for example going into rented accommodation or moving back in with parents, if the house is being sold due to the owner passing. Chain free properties are a big benefit however this does not rule out any unexpected delays especially if the property is one from someone who has recently passed away.

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It is important to establish the chain involved before putting an offer in on the property and also finding out where the other people in the chain are at with their purchase/sale.