Would you approach upward chain sellers directly?

saajan_12

LouLou589 said:

I know that we are ready first because for us this process started back in Jan; and I appreciate that the properties at the top of the chain only started at the beginning of July... I guess thats part of the reason why I am seeking more info.  

This. If some of the transactions started early July, they'll naturally take anywhere from 2-4 months, or longer if something needs to be ironed out. Not much to be gained by 'seeking info' at this stage - what would you do differently if you heard "searches / survey / whatever in progress, don't know reliable ETA yet" which is pretty much what you'd expect. 

Either be patient, or decide that you don't want to be involved in a transaction with a long chain and walk away. Chasing more information that doesn't help anything you control will not  help, it'll just make the experience more of a task. 

iwb100

 This is a bad idea for a few reasons. Firstly you might annoy someone. Secondly you might spook someone in the chain and cause further delay or even collapse. Thirdly it has absolutely zero chance of achieving anything other than delay or collapse...nobody is going to suddenly change what they do because someone lower down the chain is getting itchy. You should speak to your EA explain the situation and need to complete by September and ask them to find out. Bottom line is your EA should be able to find out if September is possible. We’ve just been in a similar position second in a chain of 6 and two parties in the chain ended up having to redo their mortgages as offers expired and banks wouldn’t extend periods further. You may have to be prepared to do this. If you are exchanging and completing on same day it’s harder to get dates agreed up a chain sometimes and this potentially means you will delay more. 

SharkMoney

Falafels said:

I'm at the top of a chain of four and, no, I wouldn't appreciate someone lower down approaching me in the way you describe. 

Right but you’re perfectly happy to depend on their funds upwards through the chain to complete your sale.

And that people, is a prime example of bad vendors. 

SharkMoney

Grumpy_chap said:

You are paying your solicitor to do this for you.  Just deal with them and let them do their job.  Bypassing this route will cause "Chinese Whispers" confusion and ultimately slow things down.

Solicitors don’t chase chains

Scotbot

SharkMoney said:

Falafels said:

I'm at the top of a chain of four and, no, I wouldn't appreciate someone lower down approaching me in the way you describe. 

Right but you’re perfectly happy to depend on their funds upwards through the chain to complete your sale.

And that people, is a prime example of bad vendors. 

No it demonstrates why the English system is so lousy. Other countries you pay the deposit and agree completion date when you make the offer. No complicated chains. It is still stressful the main problem being not having found a property to move into or  completed on it by the time you move out. This results in renting short term  but everyone has more control.