Questions and Answers

I have just found a potential buyer for my property, which I only recently put onto the market. This has obviously pleased me but, although I have found somewhere I'd like to buy, I am a little worried about accepting the offer as I know they are in a large chain of buyers and sellers. Should I accept the offer and hope it all runs smoothly or should I wait for a simpler deal to come along? How likely is it that a chain will break and could the complexity of the chain mean I will waste a lot of time waiting? .

There is always a difficult decision to make when a prospective buyer is involved in a long chain. The first thing I would wish to say to you is that long chains do proceed to an exchange of contracts and complete. There is obviously, however, a risk that you only need one of the links to be broken or series of sales not to be able to proceed. Your estate agent will be able to advise you as to the strength of the chain, its total length and the position of the buyers and sellers within that chain. Armed with this information you should then discuss with your agent your options. Should you accept the offer and still keep the property on the market, hoping to find a 'better' buyer? Do you think you have negotiated a very good price in today's market conditions? If so it may be in your interest to wait for the chain as opposed to accepting a lesser price from a buyer who is in a position to proceed immediately.

Having set the scene, suggested the questions you need to be addressing I will now try and answer your question. There is no reason at all why you should not happily proceed with a buyer in a chain, providing everyone in the chain is co-operating and the series of transactions are moving forward. If this is not the case then I do believe you should be looking for a buyer elsewhere.

I have recently started house hunting and often find that properties I visit do not match the image conveyed in the particulars given to me by some estate agents. How can I save wasting time on visiting houses that turn out to not be what I'd been led to believe? Are there any particular terms or phrases used on particulars that I should be aware of when assessing a home's suitability? Any other tips of how to refine my search would also be very welcome.

A I am suprised that this question has been raised. Many years ago the complaint you often heard from prospective buyers was that sales particulars prepared by estate agencies were too flowery and when the viewing took place the prospective buyer was disappointed. It is, of course, natural that estate agents on behalf of their clients would wish to present the property in the best light. Estate agents are, after all, marketers. However, the particulars should not be misleading and nor should any description whether it be contained within the property particulars mislead, advertisements, or even a description over the telephone. In fact, the government legislated and there is an Act of Parliament called 'The Property Misdescriptions Act' which makes it a criminal offence for estate agents to make misleading statements about a property, hence my surprise. Any information provided must be accurate and true and not mislead. It may well be that your disappointment stems from agents sending you the wrong type of property. Therefore I recommend that you revisit the agency's you are registered with as a prospective buyer and ensure that they fully understand your detailed requirements. Although photographs can mislead, (by the way photographs are also covered by the Act) generally speaking photographs are a good indication of what the property is genuinely like, both internally and externally. Remember to check the website and ask the agents to ensure that they do send you property details with plenty of photographs..