With one in three property deals collapsing before completion, there has never been a more important time to keep the sell/buy chain intact. Tony Booth explains how to do just that...

Property chains tend to go pear-shaped because vendor and buyer become over reliant on the professionals acting for them...and all too often mistake silence for the premise that 'no news is good news'.

Unfortunately, minor problems can easily grow into catastrophes if they are ignored and allowed to fester without intervention. It is important to remember that the longer a sale transaction takes, the less likely it will reach completion.

The following represent the top five significant issues that will help prevent a chain from breaking:

1. Less speed, more haste