The short answer
Before exchange, nobody in a chain is legally committed, so if one link pulls out the whole chain can stall. You can lose time and money already spent, but a broken chain can often be fixed.
What a property chain is
A chain is a line of linked sales and purchases. You're selling your flat to a first-time buyer so you can buy a house. The people selling that house are buying a bigger one, and so on. Each move depends on the ones either side of it.
The bottom of the chain is usually a buyer with nothing to sell, such as a first-time buyer. The top is usually a seller with nothing to buy, such as someone moving into rented housing or selling a property they inherited. Everyone in between is buying and selling at once.
Why chains break
A chain almost always breaks before exchange of contracts, because that's the point the move becomes legally binding. Our guide to exchange vs completion explains why that moment is so important. Here are the usual reasons a chain falls apart.
- A mortgage falls through. The lender values the property lower than the price, or decides not to lend after all.
- The survey finds a problem. Something like subsidence or a failing roof can make a buyer think again.
- Someone changes their mind. A new job, a change in circumstances, or plain cold feet.
- Another sale collapses. A sale further up or down the chain falls through, and everyone else is left waiting.
- Gazumping. The seller accepts a higher offer from someone else after already accepting yours.
- Gazundering. The buyer drops their offer just before exchange, and the seller refuses to accept the lower price.
What a broken chain costs you
Because nobody is committed before exchange, there's no legal penalty for pulling out, and usually no compensation if someone else does. The cost is what you've already spent and the time you've lost.
If you're buying, that can include the searches, which check things like planning, roads and flood risk, your survey, any mortgage arrangement fee, and the legal work done so far. Our guide to conveyancing searches explains what those checks are. If you're selling, you've lost weeks of time on the market.
Your options when a chain breaks
A broken chain feels like the end, but it often isn't. These are the main ways to get going again.
Wait for the chain to repair
If the break is somewhere else in the chain, the people involved may find a fix within days. A new mortgage lender or a second valuation can sometimes save a sale. If you can afford to wait, this keeps everything you've done so far.
Find a replacement buyer
If your buyer has pulled out, your estate agent can go back to other people who viewed or offered. Your seller may agree to wait while you find someone new. The searches you've paid for can often still be used if the new buyer comes along quickly.
Break the chain yourself
If you're selling, you can move into rented housing or stay with family for a while. That takes you out of the chain, so your sale can go ahead without waiting for your purchase. It makes you a stronger buyer next time too, because you have nothing to sell.
Sell to a chain-free buyer
A first-time buyer, a cash buyer or an investor has no sale of their own to wait on. Accepting a slightly lower offer from a chain-free buyer can be worth it for the certainty.
Renegotiate
If a survey or a low valuation caused the problem, a lower price or a contribution towards repairs might bring everyone back. It's worth asking before anyone walks away for good.
How to reduce the risk
- Instruct a conveyancer early, ideally as soon as you put your home on the market.
- Get a mortgage agreed in principle before you make an offer, so you know roughly what a lender will offer you.
- Be honest with your estate agent and conveyancer about your plans and your dates. Surprises late on are what break chains.
- Keep your documents ready: ID, certificates, guarantees and planning paperwork. Delays give people time to change their minds.
- Answer questions quickly. The shorter the gap between offer and exchange, the fewer chances for something to go wrong.
Most moves take 8 to 12 weeks. Our guide to how long conveyancing takes shows where the time goes.
How we help
If your sale or purchase falls through and it's not your fault, we give you a second chance, even if you're buying a different property second time round.
You also get a named conveyancer from day one and updates on WhatsApp, so if something wobbles in the chain, you hear about it from us straight away. We're regulated by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.
