Help! Calming advice needed...

[Teawhite1]

We were due to exchange contracts on our house purchase today with completion planned for tomorrow (no chain on either side). Today our solicitor has informed us that, on doing her final land registry checks before exchange of contracts, a restriction has now been placed on the property we are buying - this restriction has been placed with the land registry over the last three days and obviously we won't be able to complete until this is sorted out.

Dear god, the stress!

As far as we are aware, the seller is in the process of moving out and will be out by tomorrow. (The couple who own the property are divorcing and selling - he has already moved out).

Does anyone know what this means? Is it the end of the sale??

Stay calm, if that's possible. What is the restriction. Most things can be sorted. But there again, it all depends if you are happy with this restriction.
Your Solicitor must tell you what this restriction means. And if you don't understand, ask them to repeat it until you do.
It doesn't necessarily mean the end of the sale.

The restriction could simply be that an amount of money is owning to a third party from the sale of the house, and that that third party has priority on the proceeds from the sale.

As ^^ your solicitor needs to find out.