I was interested to read about a trick that Russian buyers are said to be pulling in the Canaries, whereby at the very last minute, in the notary’s office, they insist on a big price reduction or pull out.
http://www.theleader.info/article/41142/the-russians-are-coming/
Is there a name for this, like gazumping?
The article states that deposits have sometimes been paid. Surely if a deposit has been paid (10pc is normal in Spain), and the buy side pulls out without good reason, they lose their deposit. Vendor can just bank the deposit and move on, maybe reduce the asking price by the value of the deposit.