How Long Does It Take To Buy A House With No Chain UK?
Buying a house without a property chain behind it is far quicker than buying one that already has a long, complex chain established. Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t make it a quick process. Instead, it can still be a fairly slow operation, and it’s typically fraught with difficulties. Just how long does the process take, and what are some of the problems you might encounter along the way? This guide can help you understand the potential problems you might face.
Understanding a Property Chain
If you’ve never purchased a house before, you may be unfamiliar with the idea of a property chain. It’s a fairly simple one, though. It’s just the people in the transaction who have other real estate transactions dependent upon each other. Imagine, for example, that you are selling your house. You know you’ll need a new place to live after you sell your house, so you start shopping for a new one. When you find the one you want, you put in an offer. Unfortunately, you can’t buy that house until you’ve sold your old house. You’ve just created a chain of property sales wholly dependent on each other, and that can take some time to untangle in the world of real estate.
Is Buying a House with No Chain Faster?
Buying a house with no chain is a far faster process, for a number of two key reasons. First, you don’t have to worry about the sales below and above you on the chain impacting your purchase. Second, the conveyancing process tends to go through far faster without a chain.
What Can Go Wrong in a Property Chain?
The reason property chains are such a problem for so many people is that many different things can go wrong in the process. Each of them may mean the house sale has fallen through. In this case, people use the term fall through, meaning the house sale has failed, and you may be stuck somewhere in the middle. Pulling out of a house sale because the one on your house just further complicates the chain. What are a few of the things that can go wrong? Take a look.
- Mortgage Issues: In many cases, this is one of the biggest reasons buyers pull out. What happens after a mortgage offer, traditional, is the house survey. Many things could happen in between that point. How long after valuation to a mortgage offer can be an issue for the seller. New mortgages blocked can be another issue. That may be as a result of the buyer’s credit history or an issue the lending company itself has with the house. No matter what the cause, mortgages can create an issue when selling a property with a chain. Many ask, “What happens if my mortgage offer expires before completion?” The reality, though, is that once it expires, it expires. The buyer can apply for a mortgage offer extension, but a mortgage offer extension can be refused, too. Can you extend a mortgage offer? Absolutely, but only if they bank says you can. In general, it’s best to work with a cash buyer if you have a chain. If you’re the buyer, it may also help to get approval to buy a home before you even begin shopping to help potentially end some chain issues.
- House Survey Problems: Problems with the house survey can also create chain issue. If there are house survey problems, who pays? It depends entirely on your agreement with the seller. In some cases, the seller (or vendor as they’re sometimes called) won’t be willing to pay for the changes that are necessary to a property to get the house sold. In some cases, you’ll find the vendor won’t negotiate after the survey. There have been many complaints about involving a vendor who refuses to lower the price after the survey. The reality, though, is that if the vendor won’t negotiate with you because the survey found problems, pulling out of a house sale at that point is a great idea. In fact, many people find themselves pulling out of a house sale after a survey because the survey finds a problem, and the vendor isn’t willing to negotiate about having that problem fixed. Sometimes the buyer wants to reduce the offer, and the seller just isn’t willing to go that low, and that results in the seller pulling out of the house sale. What happens at the end of a fall like that, then, is that things begin to collapse on every end of the chain.
- Seller Delays: The other real problem with chains as you try to find a house for you is that the seller may make some changes. Perhaps they decide they don’t really want to sell their home. Maybe they’re looking for a bigger payday with their home. That situation often results int eh seller delaying the exchange of contracts. Can you pull out of a house sale at that point? Absolutely. A seller pulling out of a house sale before exchanging isn’t uncommon. Pulling out after exchange of contracts, though, can have legal repercussions. It can be costly, too. Solicitor fees when a buyer pulls out, or even when a seller pulls out can be expensive. Who pays solicitor fees when a seller pulls out? Usually everyone involved does because solicitors charge if a house sale falls through in many cases. Pulling out after exchange of contracts is just a terrible idea.
How long does it take to sell a house with no chain? Usually about one to two months. Many things, though, can happen within that time frame, and that can lengthen the process considerably.
