Almost half of sellers who have been part of a property chain have been impacted by a buyer pulling out somewhere along the chain, a survey by House Buyer Bureau suggests.
The property purchase company commissioned an independent survey of 1,072 UK home sellers to ask about their experiences when selling their most recent property, whether they formed part of a property chain, the frequency and causes of chain breaks, and the financial and practical consequences that followed.
Just over half of the respondents (52%) said their sale had been part of a chain, with 45% of those saying they’d experienced a break in the chain during the sale.
The most common reason behind a chain break was a buyer simply changing their mind and pulling out, accounting for 60% of cases – well ahead of mortgage or finance problems (8%).
Problems found in property surveys accounted for 6% of broken chains, with conveyancing in the conveyancing or legal process responsible for 4% each. Gazumping accounted for just 2%, whilst mortgage lender down-valuations were responsible for only 1%.
Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said: “Property chains have always been one of the weakest links within the traditional sales process, but what’s particularly concerning is that buyer indecision is causing far more problems than mortgages, surveys or the legal process.
“A buyer can seemingly be committed to a purchase and then simply change their mind, and because one transaction is often reliant on several others completing successfully, that single decision can bring an entire chain crashing down.
“For sellers, the consequences can be substantial. They may lose the property they’re trying to purchase, incur additional legal or mortgage costs and, even when the chain can eventually be repaired, find themselves waiting another four, six or even 12 months before finally completing.
“This is particularly problematic in the current market. Buyers have become more cautious and considered in their decision making and, with greater choice available to them, sellers simply don’t have the same level of certainty that an accepted offer will actually translate into a completed transaction.”
Even when a property chain can be rescued, the disruption caused can have significant consequences for those involved.
More than a third (36%) of those impacted by a chain break saw their property sale delayed, whilst 24% experienced delays to their onward purchase.
For those eventually able to complete following a chain break, getting their move back on track was rarely a quick process.
Just 7% completed within a month, with 29% taking between one and three months. The largest proportion, 38%, waited between four and six months, whilst 21% took between seven and 12 months and a further 5% waited more than a year.
