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There already will be a penalty if the seller pulls out prior to completion. It should be the amount of your deposit, but could vary.
From what I could find on the internet, the penalty for a buyer pulling out is usually the value of the deposit, 5-10% of the sale price. But for the vendor there is no deposit for them to forfeit so it looked to me like unless you have special clauses written up then the seller can walk off after exchange relatively scott free?
Hovis-
Once exchanged the seller has sold, if they try and pull out a court can enforce the contract of sale. If the house falls down after exchange, it’s the buyers problem as they have bought at this stage. Completion is simply settlement of the trade.
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Not really right. @danstuff will know more, but like all contracts if one of you breaks it the other can sue for breach of contract and force the contract to complete through the courts so you will cover your losses and probably get the house too. Again tho, you’d have to be proper, mega unlucky.
Ramsaye
Hefty
There already will be a penalty if the seller pulls out prior to completion. It should be the amount of your deposit, but could vary.
I think you would be very lucky to be moved in before xmas anyway. 2 months from offer accepted to completion is pretty quick in my experience. I'd say late January would probably be a fair expectation for completion. Their wanting to complete in March isn't that much of a stretch, and with a baby on the way it's completely understandable. If you really want the house I'd cut them a bit of slack, be a little bit human and go for it.