Property Chain

[hhh0809]

Just got an offer accepted on our dream home. However, the vendor is still searching in the market. We are FTB so no pressure of selling. What worries us is that we have to pay too much upfront for solicitor, surveyor, valuation etc with a lot of uncertainty. What if vendor find a house that is also in a chain? Can anyone share your experience of buying a chain property?

I wouldnt rush to do anything until the vendors have found a property, you can instruct a solictior and give those details to the estate agent but i wouldnt then start any searches etc yet.
If the vendors buy a property in a chain then you will be at the bottom, pray it isnt a long chain because that can be a nightmare and ultimately on moving day you need to wait for all the properties in front of you to complete - it will be a long day!.
Best case scenario is they find one with no chain.
You may have a stressful several months ahead so please try to go with the flow and stay sane!

Just have patience. A lot of it. Long chains can take months. Yes, there’s always the risk that the chain might collapse but as FTB, you should be fine as long as your vendor doesn’t decide to stay put.

I would not pay out for anything just yet. As far as I recall in order to officially instruct a solicitor we had to already pay for searches. But maybe that will vary from solicitor to solicitor.
I would use the time now to research solicitors and surveyors so that you are ready to instruct once the vendor has found somewhere to live.
Also, get your mortgage sorted.

We made the mistake last year of paying out nearly £2k for solicitors and surveys, only to have the vendors pull out after six weeks as they couldn't find anywhere.

@Puffthemagicdragongoestobed

I would not pay out for anything just yet. As far as I recall in order to officially instruct a solicitor we had to already pay for searches. But maybe that will vary from solicitor to solicitor. I would use the time now to research solicitors and surveyors so that you are ready to instruct once the vendor has found somewhere to live. Also, get your mortgage sorted.

We made the mistake last year of paying out nearly £2k for solicitors and surveys, only to have the vendors pull out after six weeks as they couldn't find anywhere.

That's so annoying. Our solicitor required the search fee, same as mortgage valuation. What can you do if vendor pulls out at the end?

@Ilikewinter

I wouldnt rush to do anything until the vendors have found a property, you can instruct a solictior and give those details to the estate agent but i wouldnt then start any searches etc yet. If the vendors buy a property in a chain then you will be at the bottom, pray it isnt a long chain because that can be a nightmare and ultimately on moving day you need to wait for all the properties in front of you to complete - it will be a long day!. Best case scenario is they find one with no chain. You may have a stressful several months ahead so please try to go with the flow and stay sane!

I know the purchase process takes 2-3months. But how long do buyers generally wait for vendors to find a property?

I think we paid for searches but the solicitor didnt put the paperwork in until we instructed them to.
I guess it could take them weeks or months to find somewhere, suppose it depends on when you want to put some pressure on them. Our buyers asked if we were prepared to move into rented, but we found a no chain property, even then the sale took 4 months.
We had several viewings lined up on houses as soon as our buyers offered on ours but maybe we were lucky that we found something quite quick.

I would definitely wait for them to find a property before paying for a mortgage valuation or paying for searches, basically just hang tight starting those processes until they have too. Yes it'll mean you will have a longer process, but they could not find something and pull out, so better for you not to have paid.

As to how long you are willing to wait, that is up to you. I would keep looking, nothing to lose, and if something else comes up it's up to you if the first house is willing to wait for.

And yes the other option for your vendor, if they really want to sell is to go into rented. But be careful not to be duped, some will say "oh if we don't find somewhere after X we'll rent" but then string you along, I wouldn't pay out on a promise they don't have to fulfil.

With regards to timings, we accepted an offer on our house in September by someone who sold their flat to a first time buyer the week before. The first time buyer stipulated that completion must be by end January the following year. This meant that everyone was working towards a deadline and this also put pressure on our vendors to find somewhere.

It isnt just waiting for your vendor to find a property, its waiting for the chain to be complete, so if they find a house their vendors will have to find a house and so on until there is a house at the end which is empty or someone breaks the chain by going into rental. The longest chain I've personally known of is 8 properties, and they can be 10+. I think the average is 3-6.

As the FTB you're at the bottom of the chain so will have the longest to wait, and it is advisable to ask your solicitor to hold off with searches etc. until the chain is complete.