Your situation

Selling after a chain break

Roughly one sale in three falls through in England, and it usually happens at the worst moment: your survey is done, your mortgage offer is in, the removal van is booked, and the buyer of your house walks away.

We step in as the buyer of your current home so that your purchase can still complete. It costs you the difference between our offer and the price you had agreed, and it saves you the home you have set your heart on, the mortgage offer and the money already spent.

Get my offerWritten offer the next working day. No fees, no obligation.
A removal van outside a red brick terraced house with the front door open

How we handle it

What happens, step by step.

  1. 01

    Call us the day it happens

    Tell us the price you had agreed, the date you were due to complete and who your solicitor was. Speed matters here, so we prioritise chain breaks.

  2. 02

    A written offer the next working day

    A firm price with a completion date matched to your onward purchase. We can often exchange within days because the legal work on your sale has already been done for the buyer who dropped out.

  3. 03

    Our partner solicitor picks up the work

    Your sale can move to our partner solicitor, with fees paid by us, or stay with your own. They take over the contract pack already prepared, and the enquiries the previous buyer raised are usually answered already.

  4. 04

    Both transactions complete on the same day

    Our money arrives, your purchase completes, and you move as planned. Simultaneous exchange and completion is normal for us.

What you will need

  • The memorandum of sale from the collapsed sale, if you have it
  • Your solicitor's details and the contract pack they prepared
  • Your mortgage offer for the onward purchase, with its expiry date
  • The agreed completion date on the property you are buying

Do not worry if you cannot find everything. Tell us what you have and we will work out the rest with your solicitor.

Good to know

The things worth knowing before you decide.

  • Do the sums before you decide

    Our offer is below what your buyer was paying. Set that against the cost of losing the purchase: a new mortgage offer at today's rates, survey and legal fees to start again, and months more in a home you have already left in your head. Sometimes it is worth it and sometimes it is not; we will help you work it through honestly.

  • Chain repair, not just replacement

    If the break is further down the chain, we can sometimes buy the property that caused it rather than yours, keeping your own sale price intact. Tell us the whole chain and we will look at where we fit best.

Our promise

The same firm offer whatever the situation.

Below open market value, in writing the next working day, with a completion date you choose and the workings shown in the letter. No fees, a deposit paid to you on exchange, legal fees paid with our partner solicitor, and 7 days to change your mind.

See exactly how we price
A removal van outside a red brick terraced house with the front door open

Any condition. Any reason.

Questions

Questions about chain break sales

Where the contract pack exists and enquiries have been answered, within a few working days. The limiting factor is usually your solicitor's availability rather than ours.

Related

Other situations we handle.

A bunch of keys hanging from a dark green front door

Find out what we would pay. Three minutes, and it commits you to nothing.

A written offer the next working day, from people you can name.