Buyer pulled out? · We can replace them · No fees
Your buyer pulled out and the property chain has broken
We can buy your house so you don’t lose the one you are moving to
A collapsed property chain does not have to cost you your onward purchase. We buy with our own funds and can complete in as little as seven days. Enter your postcode below and we’ll come back with a firm offer in under one hour.
“When we were delayed due to problems with our purchase, Bettermove contributed to our storage costs to ensure the sale succeeded when there was a possibility of the chain collapsing.”
PPJCVerified Trustpilot review
Rated excellent
What Bettermove customers say about us
Thousands of verified reviews from customers across everything we do.
First, breathe
What actually happens when a property chain breaks
Somebody below you has withdrawn, and because your purchase depends on your sale, everything has stopped. It feels sudden and personal, and it is neither. Property chains break because of mortgage declines, survey results, cold feet and circumstances changing, and almost none of it has anything to do with you or your house.
You have more options than the first hour suggests. You can wait and remarket, which costs time. You can try to renegotiate up the chain, which sometimes works. You can ask your seller to hold the property, which they may or may not agree to. Or you can replace the missing buyer, which is the only option that puts the timing back under your control.
That is what we do. We buy your house with our own funds so that your purchase can proceed on something close to the original timetable. If you have a completion date you are trying to protect, tell us on the first call and we will tell you honestly whether we can hit it.
Your options
Two ways to rescue the move
Which one applies depends on how much time is left before your onward purchase falls over too. Both cost you nothing in fees.
We buy your house
Complete in 7 to 28 days
We purchase directly with our own funds. No mortgage, no chain beneath us and nobody who can withdraw. This is the option when your purchase is days from being lost.
Best suited for: those with an exchange or completion date they are trying to save.
- Can often hold the original completion date
- No buyer who can pull out again
- We liaise with your solicitor directly
- Legal fees covered
- Full market value is not possible
Sell to our investor network
Usually 30 days or less
If your seller will hold the property for a few more weeks, this route keeps considerably more of your equity. We agree a fixed net sum with you before we start.
Best suited for: those whose onward seller is willing to wait a little longer.
- Receive close to market value
- Far faster than remarketing
- Buyer commits with a £1,000 deposit
- Legal fees covered
- Too slow if you are days from losing the purchase
Why speed matters here
What a broken chain costs while you decide
The money already spent is the least of it. Searches, a survey, mortgage arrangement and solicitor’s work are real losses, but they are recoverable over time. What is usually not recoverable is the house at the other end. Your seller has their own onward purchase and their own patience, and both run out.
There are often deadlines stacked behind it too: notice already given on a rental, a job starting in another city, a school place accepted, a mortgage offer with an expiry date on it. A mortgage offer that lapses has to be reapplied for, at whatever rate is available then rather than the one you were promised.
None of that means you should panic into a decision. It does mean the value of an option falls quickly the longer it is left, which is why it is worth finding out what a fast sale would actually look like now rather than in three weeks, even if you decide against it.
Your realistic choices
Wait and remarket, or replace the buyer
Back on the market
Replacing the missing buyer
The honest bit
What this costs you
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation charge, no admin fee. We instruct and pay for the conveyancing and we pay for the survey, and we will work alongside the solicitor already handling your sale rather than making you start again.
What it costs is price. On a direct purchase we pay up to 80% of market value. The comparison worth making is not against your original asking price. It is against what you would net after months of remarketing, a probable reduction, and the very real chance of losing the house you are buying.
If you have time and your seller will wait, say so, and we will put your property to our investor network instead where sellers typically achieve up to 93%. And if we think you should simply remarket, we will tell you that too. Read the full explanation.
Regulated & trusted
TPOS Registered
NAPB Registered
ICO Registered
How chains break
The reasons sales collapse, and what to do
Knowing why it broke tells you whether it is fixable or whether the buyer is gone for good. These are the causes we see most.
Call us on 0330 004 0050 or email hello@bettermove.co.uk. If a completion date is at risk, mention it on the first call.
The buyer’s mortgage was declined
A down-valuation, a change in their circumstances, or a property the lender would not accept. Rarely fixable with the same buyer, and it may recur with the next one if the property is the cause.
If the property is the problemThe survey found something
Movement, damp, knotweed or spray foam. Sometimes it is a renegotiation and sometimes the buyer simply goes. We buy in any condition and do not use the survey to reduce an agreed price.
Selling with a survey issueSomeone further down withdrew
The most common cause and the least fair, because nobody near the top did anything wrong. Replacing the missing link is usually the only fix.
How quickly we completeYour seller is losing patience
If they are threatening to remarket, you need a firm answer rather than a promise. A dated offer from a funded buyer is often enough to hold them.
Becoming a chain-free buyerYou are gazumped or gazundered
Until contracts are exchanged either side can change the price or walk away. Selling to us removes that risk from your side of the transaction entirely.
A sale that completesReal customer story
Chain repaired, dream home secured
“We were going to lose our dream house until Bettermove stepped in. They bought our home fast and saved our move.”
Tom and Ellie, York
Tom and Ellie's buyer dropped out two weeks before completion, putting their new-build home at risk. Bettermove stepped in as a guaranteed buyer and completed the purchase of their existing home in just 9 days, allowing their onward move to proceed without delay.
Best of all, Bettermove paid the legal fees, taking the pressure off at a time when every second and every penny counted.
- Chain mended in under 10 days
- Sale completed before deadline
- Family moved into dream home
- Seller's legal fees paid by Bettermove
Got questions?
Broken property chain FAQs
The questions people ask us in the first day or two after a sale falls through.
My buyer pulled out. Can I still keep the house I am buying?
Often, yes, if you move quickly. Your seller’s patience is the limiting factor, so the useful thing is to be able to give them a firm date rather than asking them to wait while you remarket. A funded buyer for your property is what makes that possible.
What is a broken property chain?
A chain is a sequence of linked sales where each depends on the one below. If any party withdraws or cannot proceed, every transaction above them stops, however far along it was.
How quickly can you buy my house?
As little as seven days, and typically 28 or fewer. If you have an exchange or completion date you are trying to protect, tell us on the first call and we will say honestly whether it is achievable.
Can a buyer pull out after exchange of contracts?
Once contracts are exchanged the sale is legally binding and withdrawing carries serious financial consequences, usually including loss of deposit. Before exchange, either party can walk away at any point for any reason, which is when almost all collapses happen.
Will you buy if my sale already fell through once?
Yes, and it does not affect our offer. A failed sale tells us about the previous buyer’s circumstances or their lender, not about whether we will proceed.
Do I have to start the legal process again?
No. We work with the solicitor already acting on your sale wherever possible, which means the searches and paperwork already done are not wasted. That is often where the time saving comes from.
What does it cost me?
Nothing in fees. No commission, no valuation fee, no admin charge, and we cover your legal costs and the survey. The cost is in the price: up to 80% of market value on a direct purchase, which we tell you before anything proceeds.
What if I only need to sell part of the problem?
Some people just need a firm offer in hand to hold their seller steady while they try one more buyer. That is a legitimate use of a no-obligation offer and we are happy for you to use it that way.
Am I obliged to accept your offer?
No. Our offers are free and carry no obligation, our agreements never run longer than a month, and we will not chase you. If the chain repairs itself next week, walk away owing nothing.
Should I just remarket instead?
Remarketing means weeks to find a new buyer, then their mortgage, survey and solicitor from scratch, with the same risk of it collapsing again and a listing history that now counts against you. Few sellers will hold your onward purchase for that long. Replacing the buyer with us keeps the date you already have, and if the chain repairs itself in the meantime you can walk away owing nothing.
More ways we help
Whatever your situation, there is a route
Moves fall apart for a handful of predictable reasons. These pages cover the ones we deal with most often.
Find out if the move can be saved
A free valuation, a firm offer in under one hour, and an honest answer on whether we can hit your date. No obligation to accept it.
Video library
More from Bettermove
Selling your home with Bettermove
How the cash offer process works
What our customers say