A devastated family are "trying to keep it together" as their "forever home" was snatched from them just days before they thought they would be moving in.
Kerry, 38, and Robert Minshull, 41, who live in Helston, Cornwall, have accused local house developer David Martin, of Graceloft Ltd for refusing to sell them the four-bedroom property they reserved a year ago following a dispute over fencing.
The couple, who have two young daughters, were in the process of buying the new-build property since June 2020 and say they spent a fortune on custom wardrobes and fees this month - hoping to exchange contracts in the coming days/
However, the couple raised concerns over the bank holiday weekend over the height of the property fence, saying they visited to find that their house's fencing was only 4ft - 2ft shorter than that of surrounding properties, Cornwall Live reported.
In an email exchange between the Minshulls' and the site developer, the couple were told not to worry after making a complaint about the fence.
Days later the estate agency dealing with the property informed them that David Martin no longer wished to sell the property to them at all.
Speaking to CornwallLive Kerry described how her family have been left "a wreck" after the devastating news, saying: "I wouldn't wish this on anybody."
She said: "It's so cruel to think somebody could have done this to a family. We've been up to look at it every week to see how it is progressing and we showed my daughters for the first time and they planned out how they were having the bedrooms and now they don’t understand why it is not happening."
The couple claim to be around £10,000 out of pocket after paying for custom wardrobes and blinds, solicitor fees and on mortgage costs, and fear they "can't buy a house at all now" because of the competitive housing market and the money they have "lost".
The property they hoped to buy has even been put back on the market for £75,000 more than they were purchasing it for.
"There are no properties available now and the prices have gone up like crazy. What he is selling our house for now we can't afford," said Kerry. "It's just so sad because me and my husband work and live in the town and now we are not going to be able to afford to buy.
"I feel like I'm fighting the tides and going through the motions just trying to keep it together.”
Kerry explained that she believes the developer pulled out over the complaint they made about the fence, saying: "We were just upset because our fencing was 4ft where all the other properties were 6ft.
"Everywhere you stand you could see in our garden so I sent an email to say basically we were really not happy with it and that we wanted to talk after the bank holiday weekend.
"I didn’t want people looking in my garden at all times. Imagine strangers looking in at your girls in the swimming pool. Then, four days later, I had a phone call from the estate agents saying the vendors are going to pull out following the 'argument'.
“It could have been handled in many ways. They could have said that if we were not happy with the fence then change it ourselves after we move in, anything.
“So we held out a couple days hoping that perhaps he would change his mind but people can only imagine what it has done to my husband and kids. It has ruined us."
She continued: "We asked them to please reconsider because we waited a year for our forever home. We made all these plans, paid for things to be fitted and we have just been told categorically it is a no.
“I'm just a wreck. We've packed up our house, sold our appliances and wardrobes, we were literally all packed up and ready to go. I'm absolutely heartbroken."
Steve Critchard, the owner and director at Olivers Estate Agents, which is marketing the property, said that he sympathises with the family but that the agency was just doing its job in taking the vendor's instructions.
He said: "We always take our vendor's instructions and there was a disagreement between the buyer and our vendor and we represent our vendor. We totally sympathise but we have to take his decision.
"Prices have gone up since we first started promoting the site but this was an unfortunate case and we have to move on from it."
David Martin, the property developer behind Graceloft Ltd, declined to comment.
