How long before the chain collapses

[Ontheflipside_]

Sorry, not sure what to title this. We sold our house to people in rented accommodation end of October. We then found a house and got an offer accepted beginning of November. Memorandum of sales all done. Solicitors appointed and our buyers have completed surveys.

Our vendors haven't found another property yet. We aren't that worried at the moment as it's only been 2 months and some of that had Christmas in the middle. We didn't have a chain when we were FTB in our current house. So for those who have been though this before, this is normal right? When should we start to wonder if they will find something.

So many variables in play - people make weird decisions when it comes to property, I think because everyone is desperate to get it right, and almost everyone gets a bit antsy / second guesses themselves at some point in the process. The current market also does nothing to create urgency- falling prices and falling interest rates almost incentivise a slow walk unless your sellers are down sizing cash buyers and gives everyone more time to develop cold feet.

what is the situation of your sellers? Are they upsizing/ downsizing? Are they staying local or do they need to relocate? It would make me a bit nervous if they are waiting for something they like to go on the market, as who knows how long that will take given how slow it is atm. If they are looking for something specific and /or are particularly picky, it could take forever, and then there is the possibility of their sellers being in a chain.

I would be nervous about your buyers in rented and therefore probably feeling more urgency to move, but falling interest rates might make them more patient if they think they might be able to get a better mortgage in a few months time?

if I were in your shoes I would want your sellers to have at least put in an offer by end of March, but I would also try to keep some emotional distance in case one or more elements fall apart. Buying a house in England is shit.

When we went through this our vendor had her purchase fall through and we thought it’s all over but they found another house a few months later. Whole process took about 8 months but we were in rented so could wait it out. There is really no answer here. Too many human factors. Focus on what you can control - all you can do is get your ducks in a line and fingers crossed everything works out. Maybe keep your eyes on the market incase it all goes wrong.

Try to get to the heart of what’s taking their time to find an onward purchase. Speak to the EA. We waited 5mth for a vendor, only to learn they were waiting for the perfect house on one street in our town. We gave up on them - It took them 18 months in the end and that was in an active market. Obviously there’s even less choice now and chains are generally slower to complete.

Hi all, thanks for your replies.

I'm not sure on the situation for our buyers. They have 2 kids which can sometimes make things harder I suppose.

The estate agent who showed us around said they were looking for another project but they registered with the estate agent who sold our house and didn't specify that criteria at all. So I really don't know what they're looking for.

I think we will just give it more time (I mean what other choice is there).

We are keeping our eye on the market but nothing as nice or as big is coming up. I think we got a really good deal

It's not a good deal if it never happens. And they may find what they like but come back to you for a higher offer because they can' afford it- it's not a good deal until the deal is done. If your buyer gets restive, wasting money on rent, you could lose them. I'd ask the HA what the vendors' timetable is, and start thinking about an ultimatum.

I'm surprised you haven't asked them to agree to go into rented. We were in the same situation and our buyer (I suppose reasonably) refused to spend any money or waste time on the process until they knew the chain was complete so the people we were buying from agreed to go into rented to get things moving.

Our sellers took 6 months to find somewhere.

Well they have 2 young children and it's only been 2 months including Christmas, so asking them to go into rented seems hasty.

Their estate agent says they've been outbid on 2 properties so far. She emailed today.