What is a mortgage chain delay?
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In short: When your purchase depends on your seller buying another home, which depends on another sale — one broken link or slow solicitor delays everyone. Chains are the main cause of long waits before exchange.
Last reviewed:
Reviewed by Kaiser Khan
Break a chain by selling first and renting temporarily, using bridging finance (expensive), or negotiating simultaneous exchange on multiple links.
Keep your solicitor responsive and complete mortgage paperwork quickly to avoid being the weak link.
See mortgage offer to completion and bridging finance guides.
Primary source: gov.uk/buying-a-home
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