Thanks IP Freely,

I did as you said – and to paraphrase that section of the contract, the Vendor reserves the right to assign interest in this contract  to a third party for whatever reason…….

But my point would be that this allows assignment, not relinquishment of the obligations of the original vendor.  Or am I on the wrong track here ?

I am thinking that I would/could be able to sue the original vendor for breach of contract (ie they have no intention of honoring their end of the contract) and/or I would/could be able to apply for an injunction against work that the new vendor is carrying out (they have no intention of honoring the original contract either).

Regardless of all the contract statements and abilities under law and what is permissible through 'Gazumping' …… It just seems to me completely wrong that I could sign a contract, vendor signs the contract, I pay 10% deposit as required and then be left out of the whole deal whilst still within the sunset clause date……

The contract also states that the purchaser is not allowed to take out a caveat on the title. If i did this (keep in mind that i still have a valid contract for approx 2 years) – "They" would need to show that I am still bound to that contract to enforce the 'purchaser may not take out a caveat' clause, otherwise it would remain and no doubt throw settlements into dissaray.

Regards.