Need basics of moving & chains explaining.. so I can explain it to DH

[TheBlonde]

When we bought we were moving from rented and bought from people who were chain free and had already moved abroad

How does it work when you have a chain?
Does everyone attempt to complete on the same day?
Does it matter when you exchange on the sale & purchase?
How does it tie-in with the physical removals?

All info gratefully received

That is what you pay the estate agent for. Yes, you complete on the same day. You exchange on the same day, working up the chain. The estate agent does chain management, sometimes the sol helps. It's stressful. Buy valium now.

So the whole chain tries to exchange on the same day and then also complete on the same day

Will order the valium online

Yes you all exchange then complete within a few hours of each other - bottom first (so the money can pass upwards). You would usually all book removals for same day - load up the morning and pick up keys once solciitor has confirmed the money has gone through (Completion). You would have to vacate but actually moving in is up to you. Not sure what your 3rd Q is driving at .

I wasn't sure if you needed to exchange for both sale and purchase on the same day

Do you usually all exchange on day X and then agree to complete on day Y?

You all agree the completion date (I say that so casually, but Oh My God, it's an absolute nightmare. At least one couple is completely unreasonable about dates, at least one can never be contacted and you always feel as though everybody else in the chain is being completely unreasonable apart from you.) Then as soon as agreement has been reached, the exchange takes place before anybody can change his mind. The completion date is set during the exchange. The way the actual removals work is for everybody to be packed and out of their houses by 10ish. The people at the bottom of the chain are generally in their new home by 11ish, while the people at the top of the chain are likely to be sitting outside the new house until 5ish. Removals companies are used to this. But if it's a longish chain, it is a completely harrowing experience. When we last moved, we got into the house by 4 (we were NOT the top of the chain!) but the money had got stuck in the system so our sellers hadn't been paid, as hadn't their sellers, etc. It was all done on the day by way of solicitors undertaking to send the money as soon as it had been received. We moved on the Wednesday, and it was the Friday before all the monies changed hands. Nearly everybody you talk to will have a similar horror story - it's worse than birth stories, I can tell you. Probably because men also go through this nightmare called moving.

it's worse than birth stories, I can tell you. Probably because men also go through this nightmare called moving.

Unless you get a bridging loan or have £ in bank you need to exchange on sale first(to release funds for a deposit) then the purchase, aiming for the same completion date (which is financially binding after exchange) unless you have somewhere else to stay in between. A solicitor would coordinate the transactions and decent EA would help agree dates and keep the chain progressing so you are all legally and financially ready at the same time. It is not unknown for exchange and completion to take place on the same day but that sounds pretty stressful .

Thanks it all makes sense now