With ten weeks until the agreed moving date, we hadn't found anywhere to live - then we did - and were set to exchange last Friday... then Monday... then, on Tuesday, we were told by the estate agent that the person at the bottom of the chain had pulled out. At this point, we discovered what an unusual chain it was! Apart from the first time buyer at the bottom of the chain, every other link along the chain was buying a cheaper property than they were selling.
It highlights some flaws in the system: one person can, on a whim, have a change of mind on the designated exchange date which triggers the collapse of the whole chain. In this case, there were varying degrees of consequences.
- The vendors who lost their buyer at the foot of the chain were moving their family from South London to North Hertfordshire and are due to start new jobs next week, having arranged child care and schools. We understand that, in the interest of expediency and their sanity, they have decided to rent out their London home and use the proceeds to rent more cheaply in Herts.
- The people they were buying from have re-listed their house with the estate agent. These are the people to whom we have sold (stc) our house and we have been asked to sit tight for a couple of weeks to see how things progress. Being school holidays, though, many potential buyers may still be away for the rest of August.
- We're cool for a couple of weeks and so are the people at the top of the chain, who we agreed to buy from.
However, all of us have accumulated £hundreds in solicitors fees, searches, surveys, etc. which are not reclaimable. No wonder selling, buying and moving home is high on the list of stressful situations!
So... more to come!
