Remember ......New House (assuming all goes to plan)!

Well everything did not go to plan.

The owner hired a local lawyer who was apparently a friend of a friend.  The first version of the contract they produced resulted in my lawyers reporting 9 major and many minor problems.  Problems such as "the contract didn't actually identify either the buyer or the seller" (I would considerthat to be reasonably major)!  So then there was he back and forth.  Their lawyer missed the deadlines to produce new contracts, then told us they were delayed because the owner had them and had not approved them.  I found a direct contact for the owner who confirmed he did not have anything from them.  And so it went on.  When the new contract finally came through only 2 of the major problems had been adressed and more problems had been created than had been fixed.   Every time these updated junk contracts went through, I had to pay my lawyers to review it.  In the end I have decided to cut my losses and withdrew my offer.  Back to house hunting!
I now know that one of the questions you need to ask an an owner here is "Who will be acting as your lawyer".  If it is not a major reputable firm, don't try to buy!