Q. I agreed to sell my property back in May to a buyer that had their property under offer to a first time buyer, although I was reluctant to get involved in a chain my buyer seemed extremely keen and their agent assured my agent that their buyer was ready to purchase immediately. However, 5 months later I have still not exchanged contracts. Unfortunately, my buyer has lost their buyer for the second time now. I want to be patient but as I have now moved out of my property and am paying two mortgages I am reluctant to hang around for this buyer any longer. What do you advice?
A. Chains are the curse of the property world, and affect everyone involved in the transaction. Sometimes they run smoothly and other times they really are just a complete nightmare as you are currently experiencing. In your situation, I think you have no other choice than to begin remarketing and inform your agent that you will only entertain offers from an unencumbered buyer. If the current encumbered buyer agrees, you could put them in a contract race with any new buyer (as long as they agree too) that way, whoever proves to be the speedier buyer of the two will successfully purchase the property, thus enabling you to exchange and complete as soon as possible without any further delays.