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A property chain occurs during the buying and selling process and can cause the biggest frustration! At the bottom of the chain is a buyer with nothing to sell – either a first-time buyer, an investor or someone else who just isn’t selling. At the top of the chain is someone who is only looking to sell – it could be an investment property, a probate sale, an empty property or someone buying a new build, for example.
In between are all the other links – people who are both buying and selling, forming a sequence of property transactions that must all come together for completion at the same time.
A chain can only move as fast as its slowest link and can collapse at any point before exchange of contracts due to something completely out of anyone’s control – for example, someone in the chain may have lost their job, had a separation or bereavement, or been refused a mortgage due to survey issues.
Basically, the shorter the chain the better as the smaller the chance of unforeseen delays or breakages. Buyers of a property with no onward chain have no risk of a knock-on effect from anyone else’s sale or purchase. And sellers with more than one interested buyer to choose from would ideally opt to sell to a first-time buyer, investor or someone not looking to sell, for a smaller chain.
In some instances, it is beneficial for sellers in the middle of a long chain to break it by going ahead with their sale and temporarily moving in with family or renting short-term, making them more attractive as buyers by having no downward chain.
If you’d like any more advice, we have a lovely team of highly experienced property specialists who can help. Call us on 01392 204800.
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We’re thrilled to announce that we’ll be taking our client’s homes directly to potential buyers in London and the Southeast later on this month, at the Experts in Property’s next Westcountry Property Exhibition.
As a member of the Experts in Property network of independent estate agents, we’re joining together with around 60 other offices spread across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, to showcase our ‘wares’ at the event, which is set to take place at The Mitre Hampton Court on Thursday 26th October.
Collectively, on a daily basis, we provide exceptional, unrivalled, shared marketing power for our properties to reach more buyers, both in-office and online – every property we have for sale features in the search results on all 60+ websites as well as the main property portals and the dedicated hub for Westcountry property, www.theexpertsinproperty.co.uk. The finest homes (not just categorised by price) also feature on www.distinctlywestcountry.co.uk.
As an effective super-agency, we’re collaborating to host the forthcoming exhibition, which in the past has attracted potential buyers from all over the Southeast, the south coast and the Home Counties.
Some of us are making the trip to the boutique hotel to meet potential buyers, chat with them about our region and match properties from across the network to their needs and requirements.
Around 50% of those migrating to our region from other places come from London and the Southeast, so if you’re thinking of selling, or even switching agents, now is a great time to get your property taken directly to this market. You could be moved by Christmas!
To find out more or to arrange a valuation of your property without obligation, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
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Oliver answers a question from a buyer...
A: The agent you are dealing with is absolutely right in asking to see proof of your financial position. The relevant section of The Property Ombudsman’s Code of Conduct states that the agent must take all reasonable steps to establish the source and availability of a prospective buyer’s funds - and pass this information to the seller - so if he didn’t, he would actually be in breach of the Code and if the sale subsequently fell through over money matters, his client would have legitimate grounds for complaint.
You are under no obligation to disclose this information if you don’t want to. However, the agent would then have no choice but to tell his client that your financial position couldn’t be confirmed. Ultimately, it is the seller’s decision whether or not to accept any offers, but the agent would be doing less than his duty if he didn’t recommend an appropriate course of action. If the seller wanted to accept your offer, the agent might well suggest for example, that he continues to actively market the property until appropriate reassurance was established.
Of course, your reluctance to reveal such details at such an early stage of negotiations is perfectly understandable. However, the sale is unlikely to go anywhere until you do – except on the kind of conditional basis above.
Get involved - ask Oliver a question! Message us, email us or give us a call.
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In this article, Oliver answers a question from a seller. And the answer is...
A: Your estate agent will advertise your house, make sure that the details are seen by potential buyers and arrange and attend viewing appointments but yes, there are a few things you can do to help the process to a speedy completion with minimal stress...
- Presentation for viewings - Generally speaking, a well-presented house smells fresh and is clean and tidy with worktops free of washing up, etc. Your agent may advise you on specific points to take it a little further – perhaps with some de-cluttering or a little redecoration – it is of course up to you to put this advice into action.
- Leave viewings to the agents – Try to be out when viewings take place. It may be useful for prospective purchasers to know how easy the neighbours are to get along with, but owners also tend to point out things they would change if they were to stay, which can then come across as negative however unintended or well-meant.
- Instruct a solicitor/conveyancer as soon as possible. This way, any pre-sale paperwork can be done in preparation so once a buyer is found it’ll be all systems go for the quickest possible transaction timescale.
- Your solicitor/conveyancer will need some documents from you, so dig out and gather together information such as proof of identities, guarantees and details of work carried out at the property, paperwork on issues such as subsidence and additional insurances, etc. The earlier your legal representative has these, the earlier they can start to prepare the necessary legal documents for a sale.
- Reading and responding quickly to requests from lenders, legal companies and estate agents will help things move along swiftly.
- And if you plan to use a removal company, get quotes early on – the last thing you want is to have to rush around at the last minute to find a removal company, only to find that you’ve been charged over the odds!
If you'd like to ask Oliver a question, message us, email us or give us a call!
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