Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Assuming you are the buyer, under the most common contracts, you would probably lose your earnest money. If you are the seller, the buyer can probably force the sale to proceed. Your attorney could suggest under the circumstances that the other party let you out of the contract; perhaps if it comes to it suggesting some compromise (such as splitting the earnest money), but ultimately you would not want to hold out because you could be responsible for fees incurred by the other party based on a default.