Renting To Avoid A Property Chain Disaster

01 Jul 2008

I didn’t really realise how many reasons there are behind people choosing to rent, and it seems though more reasons surface every day. I mean, when someone tells me they’re renting I just automatically shuffle through 3 of the most possible justifications, and try to guess which category they fall under:

• priced out of the market
• prefer responsible-free lifestyle
• scared of investing at such turbulent times

They’re the most common reasons, right?

I was talking to one of my tenant’s last night about general crap. Then he started talking about the property he’s just purchased. He’s due to move out in 2 months time; he’s bought a house just a few blocks down from the property he’s renting off me. He told me the only reason he and his wife rented for a year was so they weren’t caught in a property chain.

Hmm..that seemed pretty odd to me. They spent nearly 10k on rental payment so they could get into a “chain free” situation. I can appreciate how frustrating being in a chain can be; but for the sake of 10k, wouldn’t you rather just tolerate the pain? I sure as hell would.

I guess the couple must have some dark stories closed away, where they got stung pretty badly by being in a chain. I didn’t pry, even though I wanted to ask more questions. He then began to tell me that it wasn’t the first time they went into rented accommodation to avoid a chain. My tenant basically said they can’t be arsed with the hassle of being in a chain, and from their experience being in a chain free situation makes all the difference when moving homes. After all (I know it’s cliché), but they say:

moving homes is the most stressful time of someone’s life

I can see my tenants’ point, and I can sort of understand their madness of splurging 10k on rental accommodation. The couple aren’t exactly spring chickens anymore, so any fragile turbulence could cause the dears to topple over like dominos. Why live the later end of life on a rollercoaster, when you can chill in red, plastic trousers like P-Diddy?

But seriously, spending 10k on rent to avoid a property chain? It doesn’t take a year to find a property and push through the sale. At least not from my experience.

Having said that, I can definitely see the benefits of renting to gain a “chain free” status:

• you’re not relying on someone to purchase your property
• there’s less stress
• there’s less paperwork on your behalf
• there’s less solicitor costs on your behalf
• you don’t generally have to rush around; everything is more relaxed
• the chain can only collapse on one end, as opposed to both ends- worst case scenario is that the chain on top of you collapses, meaning your purchase might fall through. But at least that won’t hinder your non-existant sale (which happens all the time with people caught in the middle of a chain). Half the stress.

I’m pretty sure I repeated myself on a few of those points, but whatever. You get my drift; the advantages of being in a chain-free situation are pretty self-explanatory. And I only covered one side of the process there. By that I mean, they were also in a similar situation when selling their property. They were in a protected area of the chain- right at the top, where all they had to do was wait for a buyer to pull through. Ultimately, they sliced up the whole process of buying/selling property into two, stress free sections (at a cost of course). It’s not quite Ocean’s Eleven slick, but it’s a nicely executed performance.

However, as stated, I would NEVER rent for a year just to become chain free; the financial implications are just way too high for me. Hmm…but for a substantially shorted period? Perhaps. While I’m not necessarily a follower of this method, I’m still willing to endorse it. Meh. I see the benefits, I see the sense, but I also feel my pockets getting lighter…

Just thought I’d throw the idea out there; maybe someone who has also had chain related stresses is also on the same wavelength as my tenants.

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