What Does Chain Free Mean When Buying a Property?

When it comes to buying or selling a property, there are several terms that it’s important to understand some of which refer to the “property chain”. So, what does “chain free” mean when buying a property?

When it comes to buying or selling a property, there are several terms that it’s important to understand some of which refer to the “property chain”. So, what does “chain free” mean when buying a property?

Chain free, or ‘no chain’, means the vendor doesn’t need to buy another house at the same time as they’re selling their old one, and the purchaser isn’t relying on the sale of their old house in order to be able to complete the sale on their new one.

Houses can be chain free for a number of reasons, including:
 

• The vendor already has a new home to move to
• The buyers are first time buyers
• The vendor is selling a second home or an inherited house, so does not need a new house
• The home is being sold by a company, for example after repossession

What are the risks associated with property chains?

The thing with property chains is that there can be many links, and each link is a vendor who has an estate agent, legal firm, surveyor and mortgage lender. As such there’s ample opportunity for things to go wrong, and, because of the dependent nature of property chains, it sometimes doesn’t take much for them to collapse.

Chains can collapse for all sorts of reasons, including:

• Someone changes their mind about a purchase or sale
• Someone has a change of circumstance, for example losing their job, splitting with a partner or even falling ill
• A buyer fails to get the mortgage amount they need
• A legal firm takes too long with the paperwork
• A survey reveals problems with a property

How to break a property chain

There are many ways to avoid being in a property chain:
 

• If you have multiple offers for your property choose a chain-free buyer, for example a first time buyer.
• Consider having a short-term accommodation option to bridge the gap between selling your old home and buying your new one, therefore meaning the transactions aren’t dependant on each other. You could move in with friends or family, or rent a place of your own. Bear in mind however that it could be a while before you find a home to buy, although being chain-free certainly means sellers will look upon you more favourably.
• Look for properties with no upward chain, for example a new build. ‘No upward chain’ means the vendor is not looking to buy another property, even if you’re part of a chain.
• You might be able to get the vendor to agree to a date by which they have to move out, whether they’ve finalised their purchase or not. This is risky for the vendors, especially if they do not have back-up accommodation, so they’re more likely to agree to it if the property has been on the market for a while and they don’t want to risk the deal falling through.