waiting for the chain to form

sarahftb

Hi all,

I'm a FTB currently waiting for the chain to complete (3 in the chain so far). We're expecting the 3rd seller to be the end of the chain, we're just waiting on them to find a house. They've been looking for 8 weeks now and they haven't found anywhere yet. They have offered on places but haven't had anything accepted.

Just wondering what other people's experiences have been of waiting for the chain to form - how long did it take for you?

I was hoping we would be in by Christmas (offer accepted in July) but feel like it's becoming increasingly unlikely now.

Thanks!

MaryNB

How long is a piece of string? 

It massively depends on how realistic and motivated your sellers are. If they're not desperate to move so are waiting for their dream home they may take ages. If they are motivated but are looking at houses at the top of their budget in a very strong market they might struggle to find something they can afford and need to think about looking at cheaper properties. 

AdrianC

If they don't ever see anything they like, then the chain will never complete.

Perhaps they'll find a house they like, but the upward chain won't be complete, so you'll be waiting on that? (repeat ad infinitum)

Adsta

I waited 6 months for my chain to form. Depends how much you like the place you a buying really.

cheeky-peach

It really does depend. We accepted an offer back in May from people in rented accommodation, a week later we had an offer accepted on a house and then a month later the sellers had an offer accepted on a vacant property so it went quite quick really but as others have said, it really does depend. We are due to complete on Monday (yay). 

What I would say is to keep looking as you never know what will happen.

kathryn_w

We're in the same position so understand your pain. We're FTBs and had an offer accepted right at the start of August, still waiting for our sellers to find somewhere. As others will say it's good to keep looking but we love the house so are trying to stick it out as we know they are actively looking and making offers. We also hoped to be in by Christmas but same as you, that's looking unlikely now

seven-day-weekend

I'm glad to say that any property we have bought has been empty and we have either sold to first-time buyers or to someone who was not selling.  I would hate to have to wait months in a chain!

I hope the chain forms soon for the OP.

badger09

seven-day-weekend said:

I'm glad to say that any property we have bought has been empty and we have either sold to first-time buyers or to someone who was not selling.  I would hate to have to wait months in a chain!

I hope the chain forms soon for the OP.

Unless you've been very fortunate, or haven't moved very often, I'd love to know the secret of your success

sarahftb

@kathryn_w sounds like we're very much in the same boat. The market seems quite slow at the moment where we're looking so not much coming up that could compare to what we're going for, never mind being chain free too. I know this is the process, it's just so frustrating, feels like we're just in limbo atm!

Drawingaline

seven-day-weekend said:

I'm glad to say that any property we have bought has been empty and we have either sold to first-time buyers or to someone who was not selling.  I would hate to have to wait months in a chain!

I hope the chain forms soon for the OP.

Same here. Bought three properties, each time they were either empty, or for our last move the family were moving abroad and left the country a months after accepting our offer.

We sold our flat to someone selling their flat to their freeholder, we were moving to rented. 

We have just been incredibly lucky, been in the right place at the right time. The idea of a long chain makes me shudder!

Thrugelmir

sarahftb said:

@kathryn_w sounds like we're very much in the same boat. The market seems quite slow at the moment where we're looking so not much coming up that could compare to what we're going for, never mind being chain free too. I know this is the process, it's just so frustrating, feels like we're just in limbo atm!

New listings do drop over the summer holidays. Then a brief respite before it tails off from the end of October. After that it's the New Year bounce when markets start to pick up again. Markets have always been cyclical. Key to the process is when you list your own property.