Lists: you won't believe it when they finally do exchange, at this rate. It sounds very frustrating.
Cat: glad you've both sold and found somewhere. Well done. Our current house has decades old extensions without building regs. The solicitors just made us buy (pointless) indemnities and the bank didn't care at all.
Clocks: in glad the vendor is being nicer than the agent. They're probably just happy that you have a proper reason for the delay, not cold feet.
Themum: that sounds like an adult commute. Relocation (to miles away) is the kind of answer to the why are you moving question that reassures buyers though. It says you have no problems with the house and you are a serious seller too.
We may have found a house to buy. We saw it today and it's pretty much exactly what we're looking for. It almost meets DH's completely impossible plot requirements (which is really saying something) and it has a great layout and plenty of space. The sellers already have an offer but it's still on the market because the offer is low and the sellers are relocating abroad and need to move quickly (from which I surmise that the other buyer is in a chain, which might be quite long). DH is going to simply offer the asking price tomorrow on the condition that it comes off the market entirely and we explained to them that our buyers have nothing to sell so we can (and will) move very quickly. Hopefully that'll do it. We could offer more if needs be, but this offer alone would force the other buyers to up their offer a lot. Here's hoping!