Vendors pulling out in the last minute

[AlmostHomeless1234]

Name changed for this as I've not told many people irl.

Had an offer accepted in December and have been working through a chain since. Due to exchange this week and the vendors informed us they have changed their mind.

How can it be legal for people to do this?

We've lost thousand of pounds, time and energy and have nothing to show for it.

Don't know why I'm posting really. Just utterly heart broken.

The first house we tried to buy the vendors demanded more money right on exchange, we didn’t have it so they pulled out.
we lost thousands, and it set of a chain of events that quite literally ruined my life.

they were vile, unhinged, her name was a fairly standard name like Karen but she insisted on being called Persephone, she would scream at our solicitor and accuse him of hiding papers and so on then admit that she had them. He described her afterwards as behaving like you are repossessing her council house!

There are insurances available for this. It doesn’t cover time, but it does cover any financial loss and conveyancing fees.
I really wanted to have pulled out my offer last minute but I had a great pressure from the estate agent and I was in a vulnerable place. My flat is falling apart, the title is defective and I won’t ever recover financially.
Sometimes people just need to go with their gut.
But I agree. The system here sucks.