If you’re selling your property and worried about losing your buyer, one way to strengthen your position is actively to ‘break the chain’. This way you become free of the time constraints of people higher up the chain who are potentially risking your sale.

So, how can you break the chain, you may ask? James Richards expands on this below and discusses how this useful tactic keeps hold of your buyer and ensures a smooth sale of your property.

What does "breaking the chain" mean in property? 

In property, "breaking the chain" means that your home sale and purchase will no longer be dependent on each other. This means you can buy your next house before selling your existing one or sell your existing house before buying another. This speeds up your move and reduces the chances of the entire chain falling through. We sometimes advise some clients to do this, if we feel it could benefit them, and knowing it could save their sale.  About 20% agree with our advice.

Why break the property chain?

If you’ve ever experienced a property sale collapsing due to the chain below you are breaking, then you will know how devastating this is. So, for some, the cost of moving into rented accommodation is easily outweighed by the pressure this alleviates from a very stressful process.

Some clients will actively want to break the chain, knowing it gives them:

  • ultimate buying power. The fact that they have no related sale makes them a very dominant buyer.
  • more time to search for their next property, without any pressure from their buyer
  • flexibility to the sellers of their new home, as they can probably fall in with their preferred timelines
  • more time to explore and discover their ideal location, especially when moving to a new area.

4 ways you can break the property chain

Below we share the different ways you can break the property chain.

  1. One way to break the chain is simply by choosing a chain-free buyer.
  2. Another way of breaking the chain is to buy a house with no onward chain. If the owners of that property don't need to buy another home before they can sell to you, you'll have broken the chain.
  3. A great way to break the chain is to sell your house and move into temporary accommodation. This way, you can sell your house as soon as possible, rather than delaying things until your onward purchase is also ready.
  4. If you can afford it, buy before you sell. This isn't an option for most home movers, but some will be able to buy without needing the cash from the sale.

Unfortunately, these options aren’t right for all: renting a property is expensive, and you may need to port your mortgage.  And in a rising market, people are nervous about being off the property ladder.

However, our experience at Maddisons is that the discount you will see on price negotiations from your strong position can easily offset any loss in property value uplift, and rental payments.  So do not discount this option too quickly!

If you need help buying, selling, renting or letting a property, please get in touch, we’d love to help.