Stuck in property chain

Dlwrma92

Hi guys, 

Helping my dad buy a house for the first time. He is a FTB but stuck in a chain for 6 months. Things have been moving slowly as it’s such a long chain however, last week he received the news that the buyers right at the top of the chain have pulled out as there was an issue with not being able to build an office in the garden. 

However, the EA says that no one else wants to break the chain so everybody is going to wait for the people at the top of the chain to find somewhere new. All legal matters were done and we were about a week from exchanging which is frustrating. Could you give us some advice on what to do. Dad is pretty frustrated that the process is taking so long but on the other hand I don’t see any properties that are half as decent in terms of location and size. 

Should he pull out and try to find somewhere else or should he wait it out? Would really appreciate some advice. 

Thanks.

badger09

Dlwrma92 said:

Hi guys, 

Helping my dad buy a house for the first time. He is a FTB but stuck in a chain for 6 months. Things have been moving slowly as it’s such a long chain however, last week he received the news that the buyers right at the top of the chain have pulled out as there was an issue with not being able to build an office in the garden. 

However, the EA says that no one else wants to break the chain so everybody is going to wait for the people at the top of the chain to find somewhere new. All legal matters were done and we were about a week from exchanging which is frustrating. Could you give us some advice on what to do. Dad is pretty frustrated that the process is taking so long but on the other hand I don’t see any properties that are half as decent in terms of location and size. 

Should he pull out and try to find somewhere else or should he wait it out? Would really appreciate some advice. 

Thanks.

No point pulling out now if he has nothing else in mind. However, there's nothing to stop him looking for something else while waiting for the chain to complete.

I would probably tell the EA that's what he's going to do - it might prompt someone further up to break the chain. BUT if the property he's hoping to buy would easily sell again, then he risks losing it. So, on balance, I'd probably look around then see where the existing chain is at if/when he finds something else. 

Dlwrma92

Thanks for you reply. It’s a tricky situation as the mortgage offer expires soon. Am I correct to not renew it until there is progress further up the chain or we find somewhere else? 

I just feel that it’s so wasteful as everything is done for the property we are buying and everyone else is also ready in the chain. But then again who know how long the buyers will take to find something. 

TheJP

All you can do is either wait until the top of the chain finds a resolution or new property or your dad starts the whole process again with another property. Tell the EA that your dad is now looking at other properties whilst waiting, this will be filtered up the chain which may kickstart urgency at the top.

charlotteo1988

We had the same. We sold our house in July ended up in a chain and person at the top pulled out then found a new property which added another chain. We started looking for a new property with no chain whilst contemplating what to do and asked how much we owed the solicitors so far as we were near exchange and they said £600. We viewed a few properties found one we liked pulled out and cut our loses. We are hoping now to exchange and complete mid to end of feb. 

If he finds something he likes that’s no chain I’d go for it. But no point going from one chain to another. I’d look around see if there is anything that he likes the look of.