Chain
In plain English: A line of dependent property transactions — each buyer is also a seller, all moving on the same day.
How chains work in practice
Imagine a first-time buyer at the bottom. They buy from someone moving to a bigger house. That person is buying from a family moving to the countryside. Each transaction depends on the one below it funding it. All links exchange and complete on the same day — usually a Friday.
Why chains break
- Mortgage delay at one link
- Survey issue on one property
- A buyer gazumping or gazundering
- Solicitor capacity or holiday gaps
- Divorce, redundancy or bereavement at any link
How to survive a chain
- Lock in your finance early — an agreement in principle on day one.
- Instruct a solicitor who handles chains routinely.
- Keep communication open — estate agents often drive chain coordination.
- Be ready for completion dates to slip; do not book removals firm until exchange.
Where Offrly fits
A realistic upfront Offrly valuation makes chain coordination smoother: you price correctly at the start, so the sale doesn't drag mid-chain while you reduce and re-list.
Why Offrly? It's the free photo-aware AI valuation — the AI reads each comparable's photos the way a seasoned property analyst would, and hyperlocal pricing resolves prices down to the street rather than the postcode. Live comparables on every query. About 30 seconds, no mandatory signup, no email.
Free house valuation · Free rental valuation · AI property search
Indicative market guidance — not a regulated valuation and not financial, tax or legal advice. Use a RICS-qualified surveyor for mortgage, insurance or probate purposes.
Related terms
- Completion — every link in a chain completes on the same day
- Exchange of contracts — chains exchange in a coordinated sequence
- Gazumping — a weak link can cause the whole chain to collapse
FAQ: Chain
How long is a typical UK chain?
Three to five links is common. Longer chains exist but become progressively more likely to collapse.
Can I avoid being in a chain?
Yes: buy from a first-time buyer, investor or developer (no onward sale), or buy chain-free (your seller has already moved). First-time buyers who are renting are themselves chain-free on the buy side.
What happens if one link collapses?
Everything stops. The break point has to find a new buyer or seller, which can take months. Chain-free properties trade at a small premium because of this risk.