Your contract will tell you what the seller can & cannot do...that said, if they refuse to accept funds and/or transfer title about your only recourse is to file a civil suit for breach of contract. You'll have to front attorney fees, court costs, & it could take a long time. If your suit eventually prevails a judge may, or may not, award you costs...no assurances either way.

/tricia

wonder what the odds of prevailing are and why wouldn't the contract be binding?? I hate the thought of getting involved with law $uits !!!!
Triciae: thanks for your food for thought!

Most RE contracts require arbitration/mediation before a law suit.
As the buyer, you probably can sue for specific performance and damages (damages are normally difficult to prove) by the seller. The threat of legal action might convince the seller to proceed with the sale. Depending on the value of the transaction, an attorneys letter to the seller can make a difference.

Thank you both for your comments about this...appreciate your replies. This has been "weird" from the beginning...first they called us and offered us the land for a certain price, we said "yes". then it was listed with a realtor at a higher price, we again said "yes" and signed a contract and gave a deposit. Then months after the closing was supposed to take place, they decide they didn't want to sell it. Then a couple of weeks later, they DID want to sell it. Now for the second time they have told us they have changed their minds. We finally wrote and told them (they won't return our phone calls) that they should honor their ethical, moral and legal commitments and proceed with the sale. Haven't hear anything since then!