Property chain and completion planner

Keep transaction updates in one usable plan

The property chain planner helps you record what is happening in your own sale, purchase and connected arrangements. It is useful when different updates arrive from an estate agent, conveyancer, lender or developer and a proposed moving date starts to look more certain than it really is. Record the actual milestone and the source of confirmation rather than relying on memory.

Choose the property nation first. The starting milestones use Scottish terminology for a Scottish purchase and exchange/completion terminology elsewhere. You can add rows for an onward purchase, a linked sale or a temporary arrangement. A cross-border move may need separate milestones for each transaction, with each professional confirming the process that applies.

How the planner works

Each row has a milestone name, status, optional date, date certainty and a dependency or update note. Statuses are not started, in progress, complete or blocked. A date can be provisional or solicitor-confirmed. The result counts completed milestones and blocked milestones, then displays the full record.

There is no formula predicting when the chain will complete. The planner does not contact other parties, inspect legal documents or validate the certainty you select. A completed survey or mortgage task also does not automatically complete legal checks. Treat each row as an individual fact and retain the date and wording of the relevant professional update in your own records.

A provisional date does not overwrite a separately confirmed milestone. That separation is useful when the target moving day changes several times. If a date moves, review the affected removal, storage and notice arrangements in your moving timeline rather than assuming that changing a row here rebooks anything.

Worked example: a purchase with one blocked task

Imagine a five-row plan: offer agreed, mortgage and legal checks, survey and searches, exchange of contracts, and completion and key release. The offer and survey rows are complete, the checks row is blocked pending a response, and the final two rows have not started. The result shows two completed milestones out of five and one blocked milestone.

You enter 20 November beside completion as provisional. That is a target, not a prediction derived from the other rows. When the conveyancer supplies a confirmed update, you revise the relevant certainty and note. Do not mark exchange complete merely because everybody would like to move on 20 November.

For a Scottish transaction, use conclusion of missives and settlement as distinct milestones. mygov.scot explains missives and has a separate settlement guide. For the England/Wales process, GOV.UK’s conveyancing explanation describes exchange and completion. Ask the acting solicitor about the legal effect in your particular jurisdiction and transaction.

Record the dependency, not just the delay

A note saying “waiting” is difficult to act on. A more useful note identifies the outstanding question, who is expected to answer and when an update was last received. Keep private correspondence and documents outside this simple tracker; a short neutral summary is normally enough to coordinate the move.

Check whether a blocked item changes actual spending. A later completion might mean storage, a removal-date change or a housing overlap, but the cost is not automatic. Obtain the relevant terms or quote and add the specific consequence to your moving budget. The planner has no typical chain-delay charge because different contracts produce different costs.

Use the moving readiness check to keep key release and transport visible near moving day. A high count of completed milestones should never hide an unresolved dependency that determines when you can enter the property.

How to use this tool

1. Choose the transaction context. Select the nation and review the starting milestones. Add clearly named rows for your sale, purchase or linked arrangements instead of mixing several properties into one vague status.

1. Record the latest evidence. Enter the status, date and certainty supported by the latest update. Add a short dependency note and retain important professional correspondence separately.

1. Review consequences. When a milestone changes, inspect the affected bookings, cash requirements and moving tasks. Confirm any legal deadline or commitment with the professional handling that transaction.

Frequently asked questions

Will this predict my completion date?

No. Dates come from your entries and professional updates. The planner tracks dependencies and status; it does not estimate a guaranteed completion date from a milestone count.

Is a date called solicitor-confirmed verified by the website?

No. You select that description after receiving confirmation. The tool does not contact the solicitor or validate documents, so keep the underlying update with your own records.

Can I use it for a Scottish purchase?

Yes. Select Scotland to use the relevant starting milestones, including conclusion of missives and settlement. Your solicitor should confirm their meaning and timing for your actual purchase.