In July, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reported that buyer demand and sales remained “languishing” in negative territory. However, August saw a slight improvement, with agreed sales recording their least negative reading since February at minus 17%.
Against this backdrop, Mortgage Solutions asked brokers: What is the biggest delay to clients’ completions right now?
Half of the respondents said broken transaction chains were the primary cause of delays.
Aaron Strutt, product and communications manager at Trinity Financial, said broken property chains and legal hold-ups continue to be among the most significant obstacles to timely completions.
He said: “Broken property chains and legal delays are two of the big causes of slower completions, as they have been for years.
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“In many cases, there is simply no urgency to get completions through quickly, even if the buyers want the purchase to go through as quickly as possible.”
Conveyancing and legal issues remain a challenge
Missing property information was the second most commonly cited issue, although it was selected by just 18% of respondents.
However, Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager and head of marketing at John Charcol, argued that conveyancing delays remain the most significant barrier to completions.
“The mortgage side is not always the main blocker once the offer is issued, but the legal work, searches, enquiries, leasehold issues, management packs and chain coordination can all slow things down,” he said.
Another respondent highlighted delays linked to solicitors carrying out anti-money laundering (AML) checks, while others pointed to prolonged legal processes more broadly.
William Coe, associate director at Cleerly, said the increasing use of low-cost conveyancing firms can create avoidable delays.
“People often gravitate toward the cheapest solicitor. However, these are frequently high-volume operations treated like call centres, where files bounce between handlers and no single person has control of the case,” he said.
Client-led delays also slowing transactions
Brokers also reported that some delays originate from clients themselves.
Mendes said buyers occasionally decide to switch properties after receiving a mortgage offer, requiring amendments to the application and additional lender checks.
“Sometimes, a buyer finds another property and wants to change the security after the mortgage offer has already been issued. That can mean going back to the lender, updating the valuation and slowing the process down again,” he said.
Coe added that delays can also arise when clients fail to provide requested documentation promptly, extending the time required to complete transactions.
With half of respondents identifying broken chains as the biggest obstacle to completions, the findings highlight how delays are often caused by wider transaction issues rather than the mortgage process itself.
