Help with house closing

[John C S.]

Hi all I have a question for a friend of mine. They are trying to buy this same house for about 6 months now. Every time there is a closing date scheduled there always seems to be an issue. The latest issue is now they are saying the owner died and they can't find the title.

My question is 1 shouldn't the county have a copy or the title, 2 my friends have DoNE everything asked of them at the deadlines that were given to them and the owners were always holding it back and, 3 if the deal falls do they get the down payment back. 4 How about what they put in to it as far as home inspections and surveys  they even are paying home insurance on the home. 5 final question can the realtor be crooked.