When buying a house, the term "no chain" or "chain-free" means that the person selling the property is not reliant on the funds from their property sale to purchase a property themselves. This means that they dont need to rely on anyone else to move, and they can move out whenever they want. A chain is a series of linked house purchases that are mutually dependent for a successful outcome. Each sale is dependent on the preceding and succeeding purchases, and any delays encountered within the chain will ultimately delay the other transactions. Being part of a chain can become problematic if the other sales involved are delayed, and broken property chains are a leading cause of house sales failing. Therefore, a chain-free purchase provides more peace of mind and ensures that the sale wont fall through due to circumstances that are completely out of the buyers control.