Chains are a sequence of linked house purchases, each of which is dependent on the preceding and succeeding purchase.
Each member of the chain is a house sale, which depends both upon the buyer receiving the money from selling their house and on the seller successfully buying their next property.
A chain begins when the buyer wants to sell to buy another property (most people sell their current home at the same time as buying a new one, forming the chain).
A property has an upward chain if the person selling it will only move out when they have found a property to buy and are in a position to exchange contracts on their purchase.
IMPORTANT POINT: Chains break when buyers are unable to buy the sellers house because they haven’t had time to sell for their Asking Price, time to find the right mortgage and any additional finance required or when the seller subsequently accepts a higher offer from another buyer.
Buying and selling your home can be the largest, most important and certainly the most stressful financial transaction you are likely to make. See: Sellers Conundrum
