House buying nightmare

[ukmartian]

My daughter and SIL were buying a house they had a mortgage in place agreed price and started the process. the vendor however dragged his feet..excuse after excuse ..my daughter gave him the benefit of the doubt 3 dates came and went..when the vendor eventually agreed to recommence proceedings as he said he had a bereavement my daughter found her mortgage offer had expired as it was valid for 6 months only so it took a week to reinstate it...once again a day was set to exchange contracts. On the exchange date the vendor dropped a bombshell saying he wanted an extra 20k on the original asking price in cash my daughter could not do this so she hard to give up being over 2k out of pocket he also put the house back on the market cash sale only...so incensed by this she decided to sue the vendor for the money...he has now counter claimed for 7k saying that because he has got to bit somewhere else he may have to pay stamp duty..he was the one who pulled out not my daughter.I know under house buying law no one has broken the law although morality comes into it...can she or should she pursue it to court the only failing on my daughter's side was the mortgage offer needing to be renewed, she question the vendor several times about the delays and has several communicated from him stating the house was going to be hers so she paid for solicitors surveys etc..

[Scot22]

As you rightly say, no-one has broken the law. I don't believe either party has an arguable cause of action. The law and justice are not always the same.I wouldn't become involved in further legal costs. Perhaps your daughter should put it down as an expensive learning experience.
with him now specifying cash sales I wonder if he was hiding something. Not anyone I would want to do business with.

[des8]

If she actually issued a court claim and he has counter claimed she will need to defend the counter claim, else he will obtain judgment by default.
An other way forward will be to agree both parties withdraw their claims.

[Scot22]

Thanks Des for covering something I had missed.